I Am Blake
by Black Rose White Fire
Summary: Ruby, Weiss, and Yang are devastated when Blake dies suddenly on a mission. But scarcely a week after they began struggling to cope with the loss, a new, mysterious force appears in Vale, terrorizing White Fang, bandits, and Hunters alike - a shadowy power that defines itself as Blake.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to ****I Am Blake****. This is a NaNoWriMo 2014 story that will be published as it is written - no edits. I will finish it, then go back and revise it. Thank you very much for reading.**

**Lengthier summary: RWBY is devastated when their Fauna teammate, Blake, dies suddenly on a mission. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss must cope with the loss as they struggle to re-define their team, but scarcely a week after Blake dies, a mysterious figure appears in Vale, terrorizing bandits, the White Fang, and Hunters alike. The team must regroup to face this new challenge as a shadowy power descends on Beacon and the rest of the human world; a shadowy power that defines itself as ****_Blake_****.**

**Chapter 1**

Ruby screamed and thrust Crescent Rose into the Beowolf's head, killing it instantly. She pulled her weapon back with expert ease and whirled it around, cutting two more Beowolves in half as they lunged at her with slavering fangs. The fierce thrill of battle made her face glow, and rose petals fluttered around her in a storm of death.

She killed two more Beowolves, and took a moment's break to admire her team. Yang was throwing fireballs, setting the forest alight and illuminating the rapidly darkening sky. Weiss twirled around and gracefully jumped from rune to rune, her rapier piercing skull after skull. Blake whirled in the distance, fighting a giant Nevermore, its feathers even darker than her glossy hair.

Ruby caught movement in her peripheral vision, and twisted around to smash a rapidly approaching Beowolf in the chest with the blunt end of her weapon. The animal howled and collapsed, wheezing as its crushed lungs filled with blood.

Caught in the dance of battle, Ruby lost sight of her teammates for a few long moments. When she resurfaced, panting slightly from exertion, she realised immediately that something was terribly wrong.

Yang was running towards the Nevermore, screaming. Weiss conjured a black rune and shot after her. Blake was on the ground, Gambol Shroud glinting in the grass, and the Nevermore loomed over her

"BLAKE!" Ruby's scream was lost in the triumphant screech of the Nevermore. She shot Crescent Rose in the opposite direction, using its recoil to give herself an extra burst of speed as she used her semblance to move twice as fast as normal. The Beowolves had no time to react as she soared over their heads, towards her helpless friend.

"No! NO! YOU WON'T TAKE MY FRIEND!" Yang shrieked, throwing six fireballs in rapid succession at the Nevermore's head. Weiss ignored the monster and headed straight towards Blake, her lance turning black as she prepared to conjure a black rune to hurl Blake to safety. Blake scrambled through the grass, her hands seeking Gambol Shroud, her ears pressed flat to her head.

It wasn't enough. Ruby yelled with desperation as she prepared to strike the Nevermore, but she knew it was too late when the Grimm swooped down and swallowed Blake whole. Her last view of her friend was her terrified face, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

"_NO!_" Yang's hair began to smoke as she hurled herself at the Nevermore. "You can't just _DO THAT_!"

The Nevermore screeched, shaking off the fireballs as if they were burrs. Weiss sent a bolt of ice at its face, but it dodged and jumped into the air, its midnight wings beating heavily. Ruby shot Crescent Rose again and threw herself at the Nevermore's head, aiming to slice it off as she had done to a different Nevermore all those months ago – but the air currents from the wings buffeted her and changed her flight path, and she ended up slicing at its left wing, catching only feathers.

The thing gave a last screech as it disappeared into the gathering night, blotting out the stars for a moment before it vanished.

Ruby, Yang, and Weiss all screamed at the same time as they watched Blake, _their_ Blake, fly away in the stomach of the monster. As they tumbled to the ground, Ruby couldn't bring herself to care when the Beowolves fled into the forest and an airship descended.

-x-

"What happened?"

Ruby stared at the floor dully, her ears barely registering the question.

"I will repeat my question. What _happened_? Where is Blake? Did she chase the Nevermore? Why won't you answer?"

"We can't answer," Yang finally spoke up from beside Ruby, her voice charged with emotion. "Saying it would make it true, Professor Glinda. You must know the feeling."

There was an audible gasp from the woman. "No…" she whispered. "I would never… Ozpin… stay here, girls." Heels clicked as she hurried away.

"As if we'd go anywhere," Weiss muttered from her chair on Ruby's other side.

"I'd like to go somewhere," Yang snarled suddenly. "I want to find that Nevermore and kill it. I want to FIND AND AVENGE MY FRIEND!"

"No!" Weiss stood up and turned to face Yang. "You know there's no chance of finding it now. I miss Blake just as much as you do, but we have to be reas-"

"This isn't the _time_ to be reasonable!" Yang yelled. She was on her feet, too, and Ruby almost wanted to close her ears against all the noise. Fighting and screaming wouldn't bring Blake back.

"Neither will crying like baby and sitting around waiting for miss I'm-so-Goodwitch to come back," Yang snapped.

Ruby started and looked up – she hadn't realised she'd spoken aloud. "But Weiss is right," she said, hating how her voice sounded like a kitten's mewl. "We can only –"

Yang snorted and turned away. "I can't believe this. My own sister, giving up? This is ridiculous. I'm going to find that Nevermore and turn it into pulp." She stalked off, out of Glinda's office.

Weiss shook her head and looked at Ruby, tears pooling in her pale blue eyes. "I'm so sorry, Ruby…" she whispered, sitting down again. "It was my fault. If I had gotten to her with my rune faster –"

"There's no need to play the blaming game," a new voice spoke.

Both girls looked up and saw Ozpin stride into the office, cane in one hand and Yang's arm in the other. The door closed quietly behind him. His eyes were dark and sad behind his glasses as he steered Yang quietly back to her chair and gazed at the girls. To Ruby's surprise, Yang settled down without a sound, but tears were beginning to gather in her violet eyes. Ruby looked away, back at Ozpin.

"This isn't the first time I've had to comfort a team that has lost a member," Ozpin said softly. "It is the worst part of a headmaster's job – worse so, because I have to talk to first year students. I know it makes no difference to you right now, but I am sorry that Blake was lost. She was a fine Huntress and faunus, and she had a bright future ahead of her."

Ruby's heart twisted with grief. "Is that what you say to everyone?" she asked, her voice small and tight. "That their friend was a good Hunter or Huntress? We know Blake was good. You don't need to tell us how much we lost. We – we already know too well." Another tear dripped down her nose.

Ozpin sighed and sat on Glinda's desk, pushing aside a neat stack of papers. "That's why I said I know it makes no difference. But I say it anyway, because grief is best shared with more people. Then each one bears less of the burden."

"Blake wasn't a _burden_," Weiss snapped. Ruby turned her head, and saw her glaring at Ozpin. "We will remember her with honour. Besides – there's a chance that she's still alive, isn't there? She was – was swallowed, but the Nevermore didn't kill her. She could have cut herself out!"

"It's possible," Ozpin said gently, "but we won't know for sure unless you tell us exactly what happened. We must figure out the cause of her – ah – accident."

"You don't need to tiptoe around the word," Yang said dully. "Blake's dead. Deceased. Whatever. All that matters now is killing the Nevermore that did it and avenging her death by destroying all the Nevermores – no, all the _Grimm_ – in the world."

Ruby stared at her sister. "What? But that's not even possible!" she cried. "And besides, there's still a chance that Blake is alive! Weiss and Ozpin are right. We need to tell them what happened, and then start searching. Maybe she's lost and alone somewhere, waiting for us to save her."

"No, Ruby!" Yang's eyes blazed red with fury again as she glared at her sister. "We need to accept that Blake is DEAD! Gone! Lost! Deceased! And then we can start planning on how to avenge her. I will never rest until the last Nevermore is destroyed!"

"Girls!" Ozpin raised his voice slightly, and everyone quieted. "That's enough. We cannot determine if there even is a chance until you tell us exactly what occurred last night. Can you please recount your story?"

"I'll do it," Weiss spoke up. "We were on a mission outside of Vale with…"

Ruby didn't listen to the rest – it was still too hard to think about. All she could remember was Blake's terrified amber eyes. She didn't think she'd ever forget the shade, as she relived the moment when the Nevermore's beak closed, again and again and again and –

"Ruby, are you alright?"

She opened her eyes, breaking out of the horrible loop of memories. Somehow, the world had tilted, and now Ozpin's head was framed by the ceiling, instead of by the blank purple walls of Glinda's office. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Can I please go back to my room?"

"Of course, my dear. Get some rest." Ozpin nodded to her and stood up. Strong hands helped Ruby stand as well, but her legs wobbled, and they caught her again. Suddenly, she found herself gathered in Yang's arms like a child.

"Thank you for listening," Weiss was saying politely. "It helped to cope."

"I know. Thank you for sharing." Their voices receded as Yang carried Ruby out of the room, and Ruby's eyes closed again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Nora made them cookies.

JNPR visited the next morning, bringing food and regrets. Jaune comforted Weiss, for once not trying to hit on her. Yang and Nora cried together. Ruby and Pyrrha recounted memories of Blake, at Pyrrha's suggestion; she'd dealt with the loss of her mother in the same way.

It helped, a little, but Ruby still felt cold and hollow inside, and Yang's eyes still burned red at the thought of a Nevermore, and Weiss still cried whenever she looked at anything that reminded her of Blake, which was just about everything.

"I just… I just can't believe we couldn't do anything to save her!" Ruby exclaimed suddenly, while they were all lying on the beds, two or three to a bed (no one touched Blake's). "One moment, we were all fighting together – it was just like team practise, or the Emerald Forest or the ruins… and then we all went to save her, and it wasn't enough! Why wasn't everything we did enough to save one person's life?"

Pyrrha rubbed her arm comfortingly. "We can't always be perfect. Sometimes we don't have to pay too much for our mistakes, and sometimes a giant Nevermore happens. All we can do is keep fighting, keep trying…"

"Luck favours the prepared, but in the end, it's only luck," Ren said quietly.

"I hope Ozpin's investigation turned up something," Weiss spoke up. "I hope they at least got Gambol Shroud. I'd like to see her weapon again… she killed so many Grimm with it." She sniffled.

"Who knew the Ice Queen could be such a crybaby?" Yang muttered from a different bed. "Didn't you hear what Pyrrha said? We need to be strong. We need to find purpose again. It's what Blake would want us to do."

"I agree," Nora piped up from beside her. "She'd want us to move on, and keep fighting her battle. Remember how she didn't even want to go to the dance because she was so caught up in researching the White Fang? We have to continue her mission."

Ruby found herself nodding. It was exactly what Blake would want them to do – even if the White Fang wasn't responsible for her death.

A thought suddenly struck her. The team had been in faunus territory on their mission, looking for clues to the recent bouts of Dust theft. Then they'd been attacked by Beowolves and a Nevermore. What if the White Fang had sent the monster? What if they'd somehow set up Blake's mistake, so that she lost her weapon at a crucial moment?

A chill ran down her back. "We have to know what happened at the investigation," she said to the room at large. "What if they found clues that we hadn't seen? What if – what if the White Fang was somehow connected? I wouldn't put it past them to somehow release a Nevermore on us…"

"That's rubbish," Yang said instantly. "They don't have any Hunters or Huntresses – they'd never be able to subdue such a giant thing, even if they have their Atlesian robot things. We can't make up conspiracies out of nothing."

"I think her theory might have some merit," Weiss said slowly, her voice no longer quavering like it had for most of the day. She seemed to have pulled herself together a little, considering Ruby's thought.

Jaune was quick to agree. "I think so too. Why don't we go downstairs and see if Ozpin and the elite team have come back yet? It'll be good to do something."

_Instead of lying around moping on our beds all day_, Ruby added silently. It was time to be more productive in their grief. She knew she'd always hold Blake close against her heart, but she couldn't let memories get in the way of her goal in life, a goal Blake had shared: saving people.

-x-

Ozpin and the elite team of Hunters and Huntresses he'd taken with him returned just as JNPR and RWY descended to the ground floor of Beacon. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang hurried forward to talk to Ozpin, JNPR trailing not far behind.

"Did you find anything?" Yang demanded.

"Gambol Shroud?" Weiss added.

"Signs of the White Fang?" Ruby asked.

The elite team looked at her strangely at that question. They were two tall, olive-skinned women with identical narrow faces and snow-white hair; a short, pale, dark-haired woman; and a lanky teenager with long black hair that hid his face, who twirled a rapier in his left hand. Ruby immediately wondered why the guy had joined a team of much older women. A replacement, perhaps, for a lost member? Her throat tightened.

Ozpin shook his head slightly. "Not right now. ROZE, thank you very much for your help," he added to the team. "I won't keep you any longer."

They nodded at RWY and JNPR politely, and the dark-haired woman took the lead as ROZE departed.

"Come," Ozpin addressed RWY. "JNPR, while I appreciate your help very much, I'm afraid this information is only given to the team members of the deceased first…"

"We understand," Jaune said quickly, showing an unusual presence of tact. "We'll go. Bye, guys." JNPR and RWY waved to each other, and the former departed.

Ruby turned to Ozpin. "Did you find anything?" she asked, echoing Yang's question.

"I'm afraid not," the headmaster said sadly, as they began walking upstairs. "We examined the battle scene, but apart from rose petals and Beowolf remains, we found nothing relevant."

"So you didn't find Gambol Shroud, either. Maybe the White Fang took it to remove evidence," Weiss said darkly. "They could've sabotaged her weapon somehow so it fell apart or something, and then taken it away so we couldn't trace them!"

"What makes you think the White Fang were involved?" Ozpin asked, frowning.

Yang rolled her eyes. "It was some stupid idea Ruby had, that because we were in faunus territory, the White Fang could've released the Nevermore intentionally on us, or something. Didn't you learn _anything_ from Blake?" she added angrily, turning to Ruby and Weiss. "Just because some faunus want to be violent for peace doesn't mean all of them are like that! It sounds like you're jumping to some really bad generalizations!"

Ruby felt a wash of shame. She _had_ been jumping to generalizations. "You could be right," she murmured. "What do you think, Professor Ozpin?"

He shook his head. "As curious as the theory is, I don't believe the White Fang were related to this tragic accident. May I ask what you know about these people, anyway?"

"Er…" Ruby looked away.

"We just know they're a group of malignant faunus," Weiss offered, her voice confident with the lie-by-omission. "We thought maybe the faunus in the area belonged to them, or helped them. It was a silly suggestion, though." She gave a fake laugh, though Ruby knew that she hadn't given up on the idea yet at all.

Ozpin wasn't fooled; his eyes narrowed, but he offered them a friendly smile. "Alright, girls. Well, if that's all, I have to head up to my office. I will call a school meeting shortly to notify them of what occurred yesterday. You may make your way into the auditorium now, if you like."

They nodded; they knew it was not an offer, but a request. Ozpin walked away, and as the crippled team headed in the opposite direction, Ruby realised with a jolt that Ozpin had been holding his cane when he'd walked into the school. There was no sign of it now.

The auditorium was empty, and their steps made empty echoes when they walked in. The stage was dark, and stacks of chairs were scattered around the perimeter.

"Should we… erm… get the chairs out, or something?" Ruby suggested hesitantly.

Yang snorted. "People can stand. I'm not going to make them comfortable before they find out our best friend died." Anger hardened her voice, giving it an edge that hadn't been there before their conversation with Ozpin. It seemed she had made a commitment to funneling all of her grief into their new purpose: taking the White Fang down.

"Besides, I don't remember ever sitting during an assembly," Weiss added. "The only time we needed chairs was for the dance."

"Sun," Ruby remembered suddenly. "How are we supposed to tell him?"

"He'll find out himself from Ozpin," Weiss said, a little coolly.

"That's cruel," Yang commented, beginning to walk around the perimeter. "Then again, when are we going to find time to tell him privately? Right before Ozpin opens his mouth?"

Ruby trailed behind her sister, not finding anything else to occupy herself. "He probably already knows," she murmured. "I mean, JNPR knew already, didn't they?"

"I think Ozpin told them, so they could comfort us," Weiss remarked. She began pacing in the opposite direction, so that her and Yang's paths would intersect at the stage itself. "I'm not sure he knows how close Sun and Blake were."

"Ozpin knows everything, though."

"Does he?" Yang wondered.

Ruby nodded firmly. "He has to. Look at the way he always seems to know what we did, even if we try to lie – like the White Fang, or that time we fought in the city –"

"Yeah, but you left rose petals there. That made it pretty obvious." Yang stopped and turned back to look at her sister, rolling her eyes. "I know he seems all powerful and mysterious, but he can't know _everything_-everything. Maybe a lot of things, but not everything. Nobody can know everything even if it seems like they know anything you talk about."

Ruby stopped. "I'm confused."

"So am I." Yang resumed walking.

The doors opened again, interrupting Ruby's next comment. All three of them stopped pacing and turned to see who had entered. It turned out to be CRDL.

"Hello," Weiss said coldly. "What do you want?"

"We were told to come here," Cardin snapped. "Mind your own business!"

Yang stepped forward, but Ruby pulled her back. "Ignore them," she whispered. "Ozpin probably started telling the school to gather. Let's go sit in the back."

Yang seethed, but reluctantly followed Ruby towards CRDL. The boys sneered at them and Weiss, but didn't make any threatening gestures as they made their way to the very front.

"I hate those idiots," Weiss said as soon as they were out of earshot. "Especially after they bullied Velvet and Jaune! I wish they were expelled."

"So you like Jaune?" Yang tried to tease her, but her smile was weak and forced.

"No." Weiss's response lacked its usual venom. Ruby sighed and turned away from the feeble banter, knowing it was Blake's absence that made it feel so fake, even though Blake had only rarely participated with her dry humour.

They loitered in the back as the rest of the school trickled into the auditorium. Pale grey Mistral uniforms mingled with the darker Atlesian and colourful Vacuo; the students filtered into sharply defined sections as usual, even after weeks of coexisting together in the same school. Ruby felt a spark of sadness at the divisions between the countries. Why couldn't they just take a risk and try intermingling, for once? The kingdoms weren't enemies, or the foreigners wouldn't even be standing in the same school.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. Without telling Yang and Weiss what she was planning, she slipped into the crowd and went to stand among the Mistral students.

"Hey!" Yang's startled shout followed her as she awkwardly jostled her way into the students. A few of them turned around, looking confused; a few even glared, but no one tried to stop her as she inserted herself into the group. A tall, freckled girl gave Ruby an imperious glance.

"Hi, I'm Ruby," she said, not letting herself feel intimidated.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "I'm Susan," she replied, a little guardedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just… wanted to stand here," Ruby said, laughing nervously. She looked back, and saw with relief that Yang and Weiss had followed her. "And these are my team members, Weiss and Yang. Yang's my sister."

Susan gave them an appraising glance. "You don't look like sisters," she noted.

Ruby could tell Yang wanted to roll her eyes. "We're half sisters," she interjected hastily, before Yang could make a rude comment.

"Hang on," another voice said. Ruby and Susan turned to see a sandy-haired boy walk up to their cluster. "Where's your fourth team member?"

"Um…" Ruby didn't know how to reply.

To her surprise, Weiss answered, her voice strained. "I think you're about to find out from the headmaster."

The boy looked confused, but Susan gave a soft "ah" of understanding. Her face was stricken, as if she could feel their loss personally.

"Good evening, everyone." Everyone except Weiss jumped, and turned to look at the stage where Ozpin stood with his cup of coffee. Glinda stood behind him with her tablet, her green eyes glowing from the shadows next to the dark curtains. "I apologise for summoning you here on such short notice, but I have lamentable news to share.

"Yesterday, we lost a student Huntress. Her name was Blake Belladonna."

There was a collective gasp; many heads bowed in grief or respect, and a large number of native Beacon students turned to look for Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. Some looked confused when they found the girls among the Mistrals.

Ozpin allowed a few moments for the school to react, then continued. "We will honour her tonight with a vigil on the tallest tower of Beacon, where we will send off the white candles of mourning into the sky. Any student wishing to join in saying goodbye to the departed is welcome." His eyes lingered on RWY for a moment. "Blake's fellow team members are excused from lessons for the rest of the week. Before you leave, please join me in a moment of silence for Blake Belladonna."

Ruby closed her eyes, not stopping the tears from leaking out through her eyelashes. Beside her, Weiss gave a stifled sob, and even Yang sniffed a little.

Then the moment was over, and Ozpin dismissed the school. Footsteps shuffled around them, but Ruby didn't move.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Susan murmured in her ear.

When the tears stopped and Ruby opened her eyes, the room was deserted again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Yang led the way as usual, and Weiss walked a little behind. Ruby felt the empty space next to her as if a vacuum had opened there. It had been Blake's customary spot.

Ozpin had summoned them to his office that morning, three days after the school-wide ceremony. Ruby knew that the point of the meeting was to talk to the team about their future. So far, she had avoided thinking about it too much, but Judgment Day had arrived, and she would have to face the painful choices at last.

Yang didn't bother knocking before she entered the clockwork tower that doubled as Ozpin's office. Weiss gasped in disapproval – though it may have been her reaction at the magnificent space. The inner mechanical workings of the great clock were suspended above a wide, circular floor, with a desk at the far end. The walls were composed of arched windows and columns, though there were no other furnishings.

"Welcome, girls." They all jumped and turned around when Ozpin's voice sounded from behind them. The headmaster was standing with his cane in hand, giving the girls a warm smile. "Come on in. We have much to discuss."

RWY nodded and stepped inside, allowing Ozpin to stride in and head to his desk. Ruby noticed with a jolt that four chairs had appeared – a large armchair behind the desk, and three smaller chairs in front. She could have sworn that they hadn't been there thirty seconds ago.

"Have a seat, girls." Ozpin gestured to the three chairs with his cane, and sat in the armchair with his legs crossed. Ruby noticed that he brought his cane slightly towards his face for a moment, before he quickly put it down again. Idly, she wondered if he thought his cane was his customary cup of coffee.

"We're not disbanding the team," Yang said as soon as she sat down.

Ozpin looked faintly surprised. "I would never suggest such a thing. You three have shown admirable dedication to the cause, and I would be stunned if you chose to retire your Huntress careers."

"So, what are the other options?" Weiss asked, folding her hands on her lap. Ruby thought she looked very professional, with her straight posture and calm gaze.

"Well, we could have a new member join your team. I have already spoken to several candidates about this option," Ozpin began. "I believe I have found a suitable person, but I would like to know if you find this acceptable. All of you have exceptional raw talent, and I placed you together because you have great potential for honing your skills. I would hate to shatter such a fine team."

"So basically, we're your dream team?" Weiss asked sharply. "What happens if we refuse to accept another member? Where else will you find new pawns?"

"I prefer to think of my star teams as rooks, actually," Ozpin said smoothly. "If you are unwilling to accept the new candidate, I have several other teams who will continue the fight against our enemies."

"Hang on," Yang interrupted with a frown. "You said you chose us for raw talent. Why didn't you put Pyrrha with us, then? And don't give me the rubbish about how our placements were random or whatever," she added.

"I wasn't planning to. And Pyrrha's place is with JNPR, another star team," Ozpin replied. "But let us return to the main topic. Are you willing to accept a new member for the sake of the team, train her, and continue fighting against the forces of evil?"

"Blake always said the world wasn't divided into good and evil," Ruby spoke up. "How will we know if we're fighting the right people?"

Ozpin raised his eyebrows. "That will be for you to decide. Nevertheless, do you accept the responsibility of a fourth member?"

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang exchanged looks. Weiss still looked angry, but Yang's eyes glowed with determination. "Yes," Ruby answered for all of them. "But we would like to know who the fourth member is now."

The headmaster cleared his throat. "Winter Schnee has agreed to join your team."

"WHAT?"

Instantly, Weiss leapt to her feet. "Absolutely not! That brat is NOT joining our team!"

Ruby and Yang exchanged puzzled looks. "But Weiss, isn't Winter your sister?" Ruby said timidly. "Aren't you…happy she's coming?"

"NO!" Winter was glaring at Ozpin, who looked resigned. He placed his cane on his lap and leaned forward, clasping his hands under his chin.

"Weiss," he said kindly, "why are you so objectionable to Winter? She is extremely talented, and would make a fine addition to your team."

"Because," she said through gritted teeth, "my sister is a spoiled brat who will do nothing but sit on her lazy bum, waiting for all of us to do her work. She refuses to use her semblance to help anyone, and would probably watch an old woman get run over by a bus without trying to help her. You know I hate her, you know I came here to escape that insufferable worm! And now you want to bring her _here? _To ME?!" Weiss was shrieking so loudly that Ruby had to cover her ears.

"Weiss –"

"No! I don't want to hear it! Why did you even let her –" Weiss stopped, her finger pointed at Ozpin in accusation. Her eyes widened as she seemed to realise something. "He paid you, didn't he? He's always wanted a spy at Beacon, and he was furious when I refused to help him. How much did Winter cost?" Her face twisted with rage. "_How much was Blake worth to him and you?!_"

"Weiss!" Now Ozpin looked angry. He stood as well, his cane clattering to the floor. "Lord Schnee and I agreed to have Winter join your team with your consent, which you gave just a minute ago. There was _no_ talk of money, and I approved of this decision knowing full well how Winter chooses to behave. I hope that by joining all of you, she will learn to work with people, and to finally use her semblance for everyone's good, not just her own. She is one of the few people that I would trust to join you, without fearing betrayal or a lack of talent."

"Oh, yes," Weiss sneered, "you need to keep your precious team together, don't you? I forgot, we're only important to you because you need us to _fight evil_. Well, if Winter's in, I'm out. That's my ultimatum."

"Wait a second." Yang stood up as well, looking bemused but angry. "You're not even going to try to get along with your sister? You haven't seen her for months! What if she's changed? And even if she hasn't, what if Ruby and I want to meet her? Maybe together, we can get through to her in the way you alone couldn't!"

Ruby stood up as well, though her height still made her look small next to the others. "I want to at least meet Winter," she said. "I believe there's good in everyone – look at you, Weiss, and how far you've come from that first day! Remember how mean you were? Maybe…" She hesitated under the combined force of Weiss's glare and Ozpin and Yang's curious gazes. "Maybe you hate her because she's just like what you used to be, Weiss. Maybe we can change her for the better, the way we changed you."

Ozpin smiled slightly and nodded at her. "Well spoken, Ruby."

Weiss opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no sound came out. Finally, she turned around, looking at Ozpin and Yang. "Fine," she said at last, defeated. "Fine. You all win. I'll stay with the team, for now, but don't blame me when you find out just how horrible my sister is."

She turned and stalked out of the room, her heels clicking sharply on the floor. Yang and Ruby turned back to Ozpin, who was watching her with a thoughtful expression.

"She's an interesting one," he said calmly. "I'm glad you two – especially you, Ruby – were able to break her outer shell. She would never have exploded like that when she was still trying to impersonate the Ice Princess."

"Impersonate?" Yang repeated, puzzled. "She was always the Ice Princess, until she joined us, anyway."

Ozpin only smiled mysteriously. "I expect you'll find out more about her past soon enough. Now, I recommend following her before she does something silly, like break that poor fellow Jaune's hand again. By accident."

Ruby winced at the memory. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin," she said. "We'll keep your words in mind."

"See that you do." Ozpin looked down at his desk in a clear dismissal, and the sisters hurried out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ruby hardly seemed to close her eyes to sleep before it was Monday morning, and RWY was summoned to greet their newest team member. It took the combined efforts of Yang, Ruby, and an irritable Glynda to get her dressed and downstairs. Now they stood in the Beacon courtyard, next to the statue where Ruby had knocked over Weiss's suitcase all those months ago.

"It's so cold," Ruby said into the chilly silence. Her breath misted into the air, and she wrapped her cloak tighter around herself.

"No it's not," Yang said carelessly, fingering her gauntlets. "It's only November, sheesh. You need to run around in the cold more."

Ruby eyed her disbelievingly. "But you're only wearing a shirt and a skirt! How are you not freezing?"

Weiss snorted and started walking around the perimeter of the fountain, letting her fingers trail in the water. It had to be icy cold, but her fingers didn't change color at all. "It's fine to me, too. Maybe you're just sensitive."

Glynda gave a little cough from behind them. "Weiss, please stop touching the water, you'll give yourself hypothermia."

Weiss rolled her eyes imperiously, but took her hand out of the water. Her fingertips were a little pink, but that was it. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Time to get a watch," Yang muttered under her breath.

"Stop being childish, Yang. It's unbecoming."

"Your face is unbecoming."

"Hey!"

"Girls!" Glynda broke in again, her tone annoyed. "If you can't stop arguing, keep silent! You are expected to make a good impression on your new team member."

Yang stuck her tongue out at Weiss, who sniffed and turned away. Ruby smiled at their antics, but she was distracted when she saw a black dot approaching from the paling horizon, where the sun would soon appear. "Hey! It's an airship!"

"It must be them," Glynda said calmly. "They'll be here in around five minutes, I expect. Please be patient."

The airship landed on the distant landing platforms, and several tiny figures exited. Ruby squinted, trying to see which one was Winter, but it was too far away to make out any details. Two of the figures began walking toward the courtyard, while the others got back into the airship.

It seemed to take an eternity for them to approach, but at last, their faces became visible. One was clearly Lord Schnee; he was a tall, haughty-looking man with silvery-grey hair. He looked remarkably like Ozpin, except he wore a thick black cloak, and he lacked the glasses and cane (or coffee mug).

Beside Lord Schnee was Winter. She was tall, with pale skin and short dirty-blonde hair. A frosty blue cloak made from snowflake-patterned lace was fastened around her neck, and her knee-length dress, leggings, and furry boots were all dark grey. If she had to describe Winter, Ruby would've called her a snow-covered stone obelisk, though comparing someone so thin and willowy to a rock somehow felt like a desecration.

Glynda stepped forward to meet the Schnees. "Good morning, sir," she said politely. "And Winter. It's a pleasure to meet you at last. My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

Both father and daughter stopped when they were within two feet of Glynda. Ruby noticed that neither of them looked at Weiss.

"The honour is all mine," Lord Schnee replied. His voice was low and sonorous. "And are these girls my daughter's new team?"

"Yes, this is Ruby and Yang, and of course you know your daughter."

"Hi," Ruby said awkwardly, attempting a wave and a feeble smile. Winter gave her a look, and it reminded Ruby so much of Weiss that she immediately wondered what she'd done wrong _this_ time to make the Ice Queen mad at her.

Yang shifted her weight on her left hip and gazed coolly at the Schnees, but said nothing. Weiss was glaring at her sister, and did not look at her father.

Glynda cleared her throat after a few moments passed. "Well, classes are starting soon, and I expect the girls will want to get to know each other. Would you like us to walk back to the airship, Lord Schnee?"

"That will not be necessary," the man said smoothly. "Farewell, Winter. Study hard, and make your father proud." He turned to Weiss, making eye contact with her for the first time. "Weiss. I see you're doing well." He nodded, turned and walked away.

"Huh," Yang said, almost too softly to catch. "Some family."

"Tell me about it," Ruby whispered.

"Well. Girls, let's get going," Glynda said, her eyes on the departing Lord Schnee. "Your first class is at nine. Winter, don't you have any luggage?"

"My porter will bring it separately," the girl replied. "Let's just go already."

Glynda glanced at her sharply, raising an eyebrow. "Alright."

The walk back to Beacon was almost completely silent, the only sound being the crunch of boots on frosty cobblestones. Yang and Ruby watched the Schnee sisters, and exchanged bemused glances when it became clear that neither sister would look at the other. Glynda walked in front, seemingly oblivious to the tension, but Ruby suspected that she would report everything straight to Ozpin.

"Alright," Glynda said once they reached the great entrance hall. "Winter, please follow the rest of your team to your dorms. I expect you to report to class on time, in –" she checked her watch –"forty-five minutes. Have a nice day."

They watched Glynda walk away in silence, until her cloak disappeared around a corner.

The awkward silence lasted for a few moments before Ruby decided to break it. "So, uh," she said brightly, "welcome to team RWBY! I mean – " she winced. "Team… RWWY?"

"Sounds a bit screwy," Yang snickered.

They looked at Winter and Weiss, but the sisters remained stonily silent, each glaring in a different direction.

"Uh… Weiss?" Ruby tried. "You want to… you know… introduce your sister or something? I mean, we haven't really met you yet…." She laughed nervously.

"Fine," Weiss snapped suddenly, still staring at a wall. "Meet my little sister Winter. She has a block of ice for a heart and a bigger block of ice for a brain."

"That's not what you said the last time I saw you," Winter retorted. Her voice was low and biting.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want to be called a miserable excuse for a slimy bloodsucking worm again? Clearly you feed on the blood of starving children."

"At least I know my sister talks to me, even if all she can spew is pathetic insults that a five-year-old could think of."

"Really?" Weiss turned and gave Winter her best Ice Queen glare. "I don't see you doing any better."

Winter whipped around and copied Weiss's glare. "Maybe I'm too mature to fight with my big sister, especially in front of an audience."

"Mature? Please," Weiss sneered. "How many times have you thrown a tantrum about refusing to use your semblance since I left? Last time I recall, it was up to a 1.3 tantrums a day, with two and a half every weekend. There were so many, I couldn't help keeping count to block out the shrieking in my ears."

"Just because I have this rubbish semblance doesn't mean I have to use it to save every old lady and five-year-old girl that runs under a train! It's _my_ power, and _I_ decide how it's used, not my prissy older sister!" Winter said hotly. "If you weren't so do-good –"

"Wait, wait, guys," Ruby interrupted, inserting herself between the sisters. "People keep talking about Winter's semblance, but I don't even know what it is. Could you please tell us?"

Winter snorted and rolled her eyes. "Let my sister explain. I'm tired of it."

"How can one be tired of something one never uses?" Weiss enquired acidly.

"Ugh! Fine." Winter threw her hands into the air in exasperation. "My semblance is an illusion. It feeds on residual Dust, and thus can be sustained for an indeterminate amount of time on a battlefield or similarly Dust-heavy area. I am also immune to the side-effects of using it for a long time, since my semblance does not draw on my Aura unless there is no Dust nearby. The radius in which I can sustain it is ten feet, and although it can affect the physical world, it is usually transparent enough to make it easy to see which Winter is fake and which is real, as my sister loves to point out." She sounded as if she was reciting it from a textbook.

"With practise, she could probably make it a _lot_ better, but of course someone who's too lazy to make a cup of tea can't be expected to _train_, of all things," Weiss added.

Ruby blinked and exchanged an awed look with Yang. "Wow. That sounds really powerful. Why don't you like to use it?"

Winter scowled, but didn't answer.

"Look," Yang said. "I get that you probably don't want to be here, and that you don't want to use your supercool semblance for whatever reason. But whatever happened before, you have to get over it. We're a team, not a group of grouchy Ursas. If you don't want to get along with us, then whatever your dad and Ozpin say, we are _not_ letting you join this team." She crossed her arms. "So, you better give us a reason to let you stay – like answering Ruby's question, for example."

Ruby and Weiss nodded in agreement, though Weiss was still glaring at her sister. Winter frowned and looked between the three of them.

"I…" she began. "I don't…" She stopped and took a deep breath, switching her gaze to Ruby. "I can partially answer your question, but only if I know I can trust you. Do you promise to keep what I'm about to say a secret?"

Ruby nodded slowly. Yang and Weiss did the same, and even Weiss looked more curious than angry.

"Alright. Well… I'm not actually here." Winter shuffled her feet a little. "This is my illusion."

There was a moment of silence.

"But… I thought you said your illusion only had a ten foot radius. And it was transparent," Ruby said.

"I lied," Winter said indifferently.

"Prove it," Weiss demanded.

Winter disappeared.

Ruby blinked several times, wondering if she was hallucinating. "Wow. That was fast. Not like Neopolitan's illusion," she recalled, thinking of the short pink-haired girl.

Yang looked around suspiciously. "She can't still hear us, right?"

"Well, now I can."

Ruby gasped and turned around, hands instinctively sliding to Crescent Rose before she realised it was only Winter. The girl was smiling thinly at their startled expressions. "Believe me now?"

"Yeah. Wow. That was pretty cool," Yang said, clearly impressed despite Winter's smug attitude. "So, where's your real body?"

Winter shook her head. "Nuh-uh-uh, that's enough secrets for now. Don't we have a class to get to?"

"Oh, right!" Ruby quickly glanced at her watch, but to her relief it was still only a quarter to nine. "Well, it's in lecture hall three, which is that way. But we need our uniforms."

"Well, too late now," Weiss said daintily. "Good thing I'm wearing mine already. Guess we have to go before we're late."

Ruby sighed. "Alright, fine. I guess it is my fault, for making us have our conversation in the entrance hall instead of in our dorms."

"Indeed." Weiss smiled. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure." When Weiss and Yang didn't move, Ruby hesitantly took a step forward. She was unused to leading the group when they were just walking, but she supposed with a new team member, they had to show who was really leader.

Yang and Weiss fell into step behind her, with Winter in the back. As she moved forward, she thought she heard Weiss whisper to Winter, "You may have them convinced, but I still don't trust you – especially not after you lied about your illusion!"

"See if I care," Winter muttered coolly.

Ruby shook her head slightly. They would need a lot of work before they could bring the team together again. She felt a pang of longing for the way Blake fit into their group so easily, and wished for the thousandth time that her friend was still here with them, instead of this cold and indomitable girl named Winter.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for all the follows/favourites/reviews! My writing has been going surprisingly smoothly so far, but this is the chapter where I started encountering battle-block (inability to write battle scenes) and all that fun rubbish. If you have any comments/suggestions on how to improve my writing (not just for this chapter), please do leave a review. -Fire**

**Chapter 5**

Despite the somewhat promising first meeting, Ruby had to concede that she really didn't like Winter.

She was selfish, bossy, proud, and spoiled. She wanted the best food in the cafeteria, and couldn't stand when people tried to approach her and talk to her. She kept quarrelling with Weiss, and acted superior to Yang and Ruby, as if being a Schnee made her inherently better than them. She refused to participate in team training or study in the library in the evenings, and she still wouldn't tell them where her real body was. She never gave an obvious sign that she was an illusion since that first day.

"I'm sorry," Weiss said on Sunday night while they were playing cards in their room. Winter had gone off on her own somewhere. "For my sister, I mean. I tried to get along with her and teach her something when we lived together, but she just turned out as spoiled and selfish as I used to be. I'm glad I met you guys – it saved me from being like her."

"Aww," Yang said mockingly. "Weiss loves us! Let's hug it out, everyone."

"No!" Ruby and Weiss exclaimed simultaneously, dropping their cards and scrambling backwards off the bed. "No hugging!" Weiss added. "You'll ruin my hair!"

Yang laughed and tossed her cards down as well. "Now that's a princess-y thing to say – 'don't hug me, you'll ruin my hair'. I can see the family resemblance to Winter!"

Weiss had been smiling slightly, but her face twisted into a scowl at the mention of her sister. "Don't compare me to her. She and I may look the same, but we're nothing alike. Nothing."

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Yang chuckled. "I was only saying. Hey, want to go downstairs and grab a bite to eat? We might see Neptune," she added, winking at Weiss.

"No, he'll probably be with Sun," Weiss said, a little despondently. "The boy won't stop moping. I mean, we all miss Blake, but that doesn't mean we have to give up on life and lie in bed all day. It's a stupid way to mourn."

"I know," Ruby agreed. "But he just needs time, I guess. Anyways, I'm totally up for a pumpkin-frosting cookie! Let's get JNPR to go to the kitchens with us. They're still open, right?"

"I think so," Yang said excitedly. "Let's go, guys!"

The team tumbled out of the room, laughing, and raced each other to JNPR's dorm. None of them noticed the girl in dark grey perched on a windowsill behind them, staring at them with mixed frustration and longing.

-x-

The docks were quiet at this time of night. The only sounds were the lapping of water and the creaking of metal hulls as they shifted in their restless sleep, longing to prowl the seas again. The workers had fled home as soon as the clock struck nine, and it was too early for the other sorts to start gathering.

Only a lone Atlesian soldier guarded the ship that had arrived from Mistral two nights before. The strategy was double-edged; on one hand, no one suspected that a ship guarded by only one (visible) man would contain dozens of vials of powdered Beowolf claw and Dust. On the other hand, once the enemy found out that the ship contained what they needed, there was nothing to stop them from seizing their desired cargo.

It was pathetically easy for Torchwick and his chosen band of White Fang soldiers to board the ship under the cover of Neo's illusion. The soldiers fanned out so they stood with their backs to the door leading to the hold, weapons pointed at the unsuspecting Atlesian soldier, though they were forbidden to fire unless their presence became known. Torchwick placed the tip of his cane on the metal lock to the hold, and the tip glowed red. Within seconds, the door was unlocked, and he carefully pushed it open.

Neo followed her employer into the hold, her pink hair beginning to glow faintly in the darkness. She wore a faint smile, but she scanned the room warily, her watchful eyes missing nothing despite the dim lighting.

"Will you turn your hair off?" Torchwick asked, his whisper tinged with irritation. "You're like a radioactive ball of cotton candy."

"Of course, sir," she replied, but her smile almost completely disappeared. Her hair gradually stopped glowing, until they were plunged into darkness again.

"Much better." Torchwick gave a low laugh and began rummaging in his pockets. After a moment, he took out a pair of bulky goggles and put them on. "Here," he said, tossing a pair to where he had last seen Neo.

She heard the goggles whoosh through the air and caught them perfectly, placing them on her face like Torchwick had done. Although the room was still dark, faint green outlines of lockers and tables became visible, as if someone had washed it in a sickly green light.

"You know what to do," Torchwick said in his honeyed voice. "Get to work."

Neo nodded and strode to the nearest locker. She touched the lock with her glove and activated the embedded Dust, which weakened the metal enough for her to gently tear the lock off like a piece of crystallized caramel. Inside, four vials full of powder sat on a shelf; she scooped them up carefully and placed them into the special briefcase Torchwick had given her. Some of the vials contained Dust that exploded on contact with the slightest amount of light, which was why they had to work with the night-vision goggles.

The contents of the next few lockers were much the same. Neo's mind began to wander as she scooped up the twentieth vial. She wondered why Torchwick was collecting the vials – or rather, why Cinder had told Torchwick to collect the vials. She had said they had enough Dust to enact the second stage of the plan, so why did they need this extra Dust? And why the powdered Beowolf claw? It was a powerful ingredient and could create huge explosions when ignited, but red Dust could do much the same thing, and they already had plenty of that to arm their soldiers.

A shadow fell across the twenty-first vial.

It took Neo a moment to realise what was wrong. She stared at the darkened vial stupidly, wondering if her goggles had suddenly stopped working, before realizing that they were _in total darkness_. There was no such thing as shadows with infrared.

When she spun around, it was too late. Something ripped the goggles off her head, and when she reached down to grope for her umbrella next to her feet, she was unsurprised to find that it had disappeared. She was completely helpless.

Thinking fast, Neo decided to light the Dust particles in her hair. The attacker obviously knew where she was, and maybe the extra light would help Torchwick. She could only hope that none of the vials were exposed to the glow.

"Neo –" Torchwick's voice cut off abruptly, and something clattered to the floor. At first, Neo assumed it was his cane, but a moment later a bloom of red light appeared. Torchwick had lit the Dust on the tip of his cane.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" Torchwick said sharply. He seemed to be unhurt, though his goggles were gone as well. Neo extinguished her hair, hoping that her attacker had lost interest her, and instantly created a pane of herself sitting on the floor with her hair still glowing. Behind the pane, she began to slowly creep towards the door, keeping her eyes darting around the room.

A shadow darted across her vision, cutting off her view of Torchwick for a split-second. Instantly, Torchwick turned so that his back was to a locker, his cane pointing outwards, as he faced the direction where the shadow had appeared. Neo saw his eyes flicker to the pane, and back again. She was sure he knew it was her illusion. He hadn't hired her for being stupid enough to sit still in plain view.

Nothing happened for a few moments; Neo stopped crawling for a moment, wary of making noise, and took a second to change her pane a little, so that it looked as if she was trying to stand up.

The shadow appeared again, and there was a blur of movement. The pane shattered inward, and the pieces of fake Neo quickly melted into thin air, like an ice cube exposed to fire.

"So you've met my dear Neo before, have you?" Torchwick said casually, his eyes now on the place where the pane used to be. "Charmer, isn't she? Especially when she creates those lovely illusions of hers. I used to tell her that she should be an artist."

Neo got the message, and created a pane of Torchwick holding his lit cane. The real Torchwick instantly extinguished his cane, sidled out and began creeping towards the door; Neo thought she saw his shadow appear from behind the pane. She also began crawling, trusting Torchwick's babbling to mask her escape, though she wished her panes could make noise, not only light. If the shadow warrior was skilled enough to recognize a pane, surely he or she could find someone by the direction of his voice.

"I hope you don't mind our presence here," the real Torchwick continued, and Neo made the fake Torchwick's mouth move slightly as well. "We were just examining these beautiful –"

Whatever he was about to say was lost in the noise of running footsteps. Neo gave up trying to understand what was happening and simply ran towards the door, creating a pane of herself running as well to hopefully confuse the attacker. There was the sound of something shattering, and suddenly the room was bathed in heat; a Dust vial had probably exploded. Too late, Neo realised that she'd left her briefcase in the hold, but there was no time to look for it now.

There were shouts up ahead, and Neo thought she felt a brush of air as something sped by her. She frantically created more panes, despite the darkness, in case the attacker could see her running and targeted her. Her efforts were wasted, however – as soon as she exited onto the main deck, she saw flashes of light and the sound of gunshots. Torchwick was surrounded by his White Fang soldiers and firing off bullets into the darkness, and Neo had to dive to the ground to avoid being hit by a stray projectile.

Weaponless and helpless, Neo created more panes, surrounding herself with a false image of empty space. When she was done with that, she also created panes near the White Fang soldiers, so it looked like there were twice as many than there actually were. Unfortunately, Torchwick's bullets shattered the panes as soon as she created them, and the melting pieces only distracted the soldiers. Neo hastily stopped.

Resigned to watching the battle, Neo crouched as close to the ground as possible and scanned the deck carefully for signs of the shadow. The only people present so far were her allies – the Atlesian soldier guarding the ship was nowhere to be found, and no Vale reinforcements had come to interrupt the battle. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

Torchwick gave a shouted command, and the soldiers all stopped firing blindly into the darkness. The only sound for a moment was Neo's heavy breathing – then the shadow darted forward, plunging a dark weapon into one of the soldiers' shoulder. The soldier gave a cry of pain and dropped to the ground, his mask slipping off. Before anyone else could respond, the shadow retracted its weapon and melted into the darkness again.

Neo's blood ran cold as she realised that the shadow had every advantage here. They were sitting ducks, and it would have no trouble aiming its weapon a little to the left and cutting through necks instead of shoulders if it had to. The only way out she could see was either setting the ship on fire to illuminate everything, or fleeing to the protection of the city streets.

Torchwick was evidently thinking the same thing, because he abruptly fired at the wooden deck in the direction that the shadow had disappeared. The projectile exploded on contact, and the deck bloomed with fire.

When there was no response, Torchwick fired in the opposite direction, so that his group was between the two flames in a space approximately fifteen feet wide. Neo hoped the shadow hadn't cut the ladder that they'd used to get up onto the elevated deck of the ship; she didn't fancy jumping into the darkness to get off the ship.

"Show yourself!" Torchwick yelled. The fire made his eyes glint red. "Or are you too much of a coward, Hunter?"

Neo wondered how he knew it was a Hunter (or Huntress). Surely a Hunter would work with a team, not on his own?

The shadow sliced through the air again, very close to Neo, as it attacked two soldiers simultaneously. Both of them went down with grunts of pain, clutching their shoulders again. Neo thought she caught a glimpse of white before the shadow jumped up, in the direction of the roof of the hold. _That's where it must be hiding_, she realised. _But how does it jump that high?_

_ It must have some kind of grappling device._

Neo created a pane of herself crouching on the ground and began crawling towards the place where she thought she saw the shadow land on the roof, hoping to find some kind of rope. Behind her, the fire was beginning to eat away faster at the rapidly darkening deck, and she could feel its heat on her skin. She hoped that Torchwick had ice Dust with him to freeze the flames if they got too strong.

She didn't hear it, but her employer must have given some command, as the soldiers suddenly began firing at the hold. She instantly flattened herself to the ground and created a brief pane of herself standing in front of the hold, knowing that Torchwick would see it and realise that was her position. The pane shattered in a few seconds, but the gunshots stopped.

When Neo reached her desired spot, she looked up. There was nothing there – no shadow, no rope. She debated whether to attempt to crawl over and join Torchwick in his protective circle, but decided to stay put when she saw the shadow spring over her head, aiming at the White Fang troops again.

This time Torchwick was watching carefully, and he managed to fire two more Dust bullets, which exploded in the air into a cloud of dazzling green Dust motes. The shadow was highlighted for a brief moment as it attacked yet another soldier with bewildering speed, and Neo shuddered when she saw that despite the light of the fire and the green sparkles, the figure was still wreathed in darkness, as if it was wearing black fog like a cloak around itself. All she could make out was a glimpse of white where its eyes should be as it whirled around and escaped onto the roof again.

The soldiers fired bullets after it, but the shadow leapt off the roof again, and this time Torchwick's red Dust bullets missed it completely; they exploded against the hold's wall. The shadow gave a giant leap, and suddenly it was standing behind the fire, watching Torchwick across the flames he had created.

The soldiers drew closer around their employer, and Neo almost broke cover to join them, but something held her back. The shadow had frozen like a statue, waiting – for what? For them to fire at it again? To flee?

"Who are you?" Torchwick demanded again, and this time his smooth voice was tinged with fear. "Why are you attacking us? Explain yourself!"

Neo expected the shadow to attack again instead of responding, but to her astonishment, the figure spoke in a low, raspy voice. "_I am Blake_."

_But Blake's dead!_ she thought wildly. _It's lying. It wants to confuse us_.

Before Torchwick or his soldiers could say anything else, the shadow leapt overboard and vanished from view. They were left alone on the burning deck, and at last the distant wailing of sirens and roar of airship engines appeared, as if the Vale police had finally woken up to what was happening.

Neo decided that the danger was over, and ran to her employer. The soldiers tensed and aimed their weapons at her, but didn't fire when they saw who it was.

"Torchwick? What do we do?" she asked, her customary smile refusing to slide onto her face.

Torchwick gazed at the fires he had caused, and then turned to look at the city. "We have to leave this ship. It's a failed mission. We'll report to Cinder tomorrow." His voice shook. He jerked his head at the dock below, and the soldiers immediately began began down.

Neo turned to gaze back at the fallen soldiers, their bodies trapped between two advancing lines of fire. "What about them?" she said.

Torchwick wordlessly shot two loads of pale blue ice Dust at the flames, which froze instantly. "Let the Hunters find them," he said carelessly. "Let's go."

Neo nodded and followed the soldiers onto the dock, wincing as the hard wooden boards hit her feet when she jumped down from the second-to-last rung. Torchwick landed beside her, and together they hurried back to their airship, each wrapped in their own thoughts.

She couldn't stop thinking about the battle. It wasn't the first time she had been totally helpless against an enemy that could see through her panes, but it was the first time she had seen Torchwick and the White Fang be equally helpless to the shadow that had attacked them and disabled soldiers with ease. How had it masked its identity so well? Was its semblance superspeed, or super-reflexes, or superstrength? She'd never seen a fighter avoid fire and gunshots so easily while remaining nearly invisible.

Why had it attacked them?

_I am Blake_, it had said.

But Blake was dead.

_I am Blake._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

When Yang shook Ruby awake, it took Ruby a moment to realise what was wrong with her sister's eyes – they were red instead of violet. The realisation instantly chased away any remaining dregs of sleep.

"What happened?" Ruby asked quickly. "Yang?"

"You'd better see for yourself," Yang said darkly, stepping back to allow Ruby to get out of the bed. "Everyone's at the docks, even Ozpin and Glynda. We can take an airship and no one will notice."

"Um…" Ruby sat up and rubbed her head, squinting at the bright daylight streaming from the window. Two airships were floating over the distant landing platforms. "What's going on? Why do we need an airship? And where are Weiss and Winter?"

Yang snorted and stomped to the window, clutching the sill with white-knuckled hands. "I don't give a damn about Winter. Weiss just left after telling me the news. She told me she can fly an airship."

Ruby wanted to ask what the news was, but changed her mind when she saw Yang's grip on the sill. "Are you sure we have to steal an airship?" she questioned. "Why not just…take a normal airship? It looks like everyone's going to the docks too."

"That's too slow!" Yang snapped. "We have to get there _now_, before they erase all the evidence!"

"Evidence of _what_, Yang?" Ruby said, rubbing her eyes. She didn't mean to sound petulant, but her sister was being unusually closed off.

Yang turned around, her hair beginning to smoke again. "Of _Blake_!" she snarled. "Weiss told me that she heard from Pyrrha that she heard from her friends in the city that they heard that a ship was lit on fire yesterday, someone tried to steal a bunch of Dust, and it was _Blake_ who did it!"

Ruby made a choking noise and stared at her sister. "WHAT? Well what are you waiting for?! We have to run!"

In the time it took Yang to roll her eyes, Ruby got dressed, rinsed her mouth out in the bathroom, and grabbed Crescent Rose. She barely felt tired from using her semblance. "Let's go already!"

They ran downstairs at record speed (for Yang), almost knocking down Emerald and Mercury, who were going in the opposite direction. Ruby muttered a quick "sorry" that was lost in the crisp morning air as she skidded to a halt outside, where a small airship was crouched in the center of the main courtyard, its fans idling. Weiss sat behind the wheel, glaring at them.

"About time!" she said angrily when they clambered inside. "I almost got caught by that Ironwood person! CFVY saved me by distracting him - they stole an airship too."

"Yeah, yeah, just move it!" Yang ordered. Weiss huffed, but for once didn't argue as she lifted the airship into the air and pointed it at distant Vale.

It took them twenty tense minutes to get to the Vale docks, where a cluster of airships had already landed haphazardly among the cranes and loading trucks. Weiss skillfully manoeuvred into a tight space between two warehouses while Ruby and Yang strained to catch a glimpse of the scene. Vale police clustered around a cargo ship that looked like a half-burnt carcass, its metal hull twisted and its upper deck almost entirely gone. A few detectives were moving in and out of a metal-walled room in the center of the ship, and Ruby thought she saw a briefcase before the warehouse wall hid the sight from view.

"How are we supposed to get over there now?" Yang complained as they jumped out of the airship and began walking to the burnt ship, where a crowd was already milling around.

"Blend in and pretend you're supposed to be here?" Ruby suggested.

"That won't help us see the evidence," Weiss pointed out, her face twisted in an uncharacteristic scowl. It made wrinkles in her forehead.

Yang growled low in her throat, flexing Ember Celica. "This is so stupid. We deserve to be there and find out if there's any truth to the stories. They can't stop us."

Ruby blinked at her sister. "I think there are enough police there to stop even you, Yang," she said, trying to sound mild.

"But Blake –"

"Do you wish to see the crime scene?" someone interrupted.

Yang, Ruby, and Weiss stared at the newcomer. A tall, lean man with a mop of blonde hair and a white half-mask stepped out of the jostle of people. There were no red lines around the eye-holes, but aside from that, he looked exactly like a member of the White Fang, down to the grey-black uniform and the steel-studded boots.

"Yes," Yang said, at the same time as Weiss said, "Who are you?"

"Then follow me," the man replied, ignoring Weiss. "I happen to have an interest in the events that occurred last night. I know a way up there."

He turned and disappeared back into the crowd, the people easily allowing him to pass. Without any more questions, Weiss and Yang followed the narrow path he was creating.

"Wait!" Ruby tugged on Yang's sleeve, struggling to keep up with their weaving. "That guy looks just like a White Fang soldier! How can you trust him?"

Yang flashed her red eyes at her. "At this point, I don't care," she snapped. "I need to see what happened!"

Ruby didn't dare argue anymore when her sister was in her rage state, though her fury seemed to be confined to her eyes for now. Instead, she simply followed her team through the throng, until they reached the wooden dock that adjoined the burnt ship's hull. A policeman was blocking their way.

"IDs, please," he intoned.

The stranger showed the officer something in his hand. The officer immediately stepped aside, and even bowed at them when they passed him. Ruby glanced back warily at the crowd, but aside from a few angry shouts, there was no sign that anyone wanted to stop them.

Rapidly, they climbed the ladder that had been set up to reach the ruined upper deck, where a hastily erected platform provided a place to stand. No one took any notice as the man stepped onto the platform, then beckoned the girls through.

"Why are you helping us?" Ruby asked him plainly as soon as her feet were off the ladder.

"I have a vested interest in keeping you informed," the man replied. "Ozpin won't tell you anything useful, so I figured you could help me find some clues. Besides, my pass happens to belong to a Hunter team, and I conveniently appear to be your fourth member." He walked towards the hold and lightly leapt onto a crate that someone had placed next to the door, then from the crate to the roof. "Come on up."

Ruby and Weiss hesitated, but Yang immediately followed him. "Hurry up, guys!"

Reluctantly, they climbed up. Weiss stumbled a little in her heels when they caught on a gap between the crate's boards, and the man caught her hand to help her up. When she regained her balance, she snatched her hand back and glared at him. His mouth curled in a smirk, but he made no comment on her.

"You must know how Blake fights," he said instead. "Do you see signs of her weapon here?"

Ruby thought of Gambol Shroud, and remembered how Blake used the ribbons and her katana as a way to swing around. "There should be marks of a sword digging into the metal," she said softly, trying to push away the memories of Blake using that same katana to help her kill a Nevermore.

"I don't see anything," Weiss said uncertainly, stooping to examine the roof. The metal was pristine, free of even tiny scratches. "And there aren't footprints either."

"Maybe she padded her boots with cotton," Yang said, glowering at the roof as if it was giving her personal offense by not suggesting that Blake had been there. "It would help her move around quietly, too. She's very smart about these kinds of things."

Ruby didn't miss the use of the present tense. "We aren't sure if it's Blake, Yang," she pointed out, trying to sound gentle. "Besides, didn't you say there's no hope of –"

"Yes, but that was before someone calling herself Blake attacked Torchwick!" Yang replied fiercely. "I'm willing to accept I was wrong if it means our friend is alive!"

"I think you're falling to premature conclusions," the man said mildly. "What other evidence would her weapon have left?"

"Er… what if she went inside the hold? Maybe scrapes on the stuff inside…" Ruby knew she was grasping at straws, but she couldn't let herself give up on Blake this easily. If Blake was really alive, surely she would want her team to try as hard as humanly possible to find her and bring her back…

Though it begged the question – why would Blake need them to find her, if she was capable of attacking Torchwick and his cronies single-handedly, and winning at that?

"Ruby! You coming or what?"

Startled, Ruby looked up and realised that the others had left her behind; Yang was calling to her from the ground. Embarrassed, she used her semblance to appear by their side almost instantly. "I'm here," she declared, laughing nervously.

Weiss rolled her eyes, and the man gave her a polite smile. Yang punched her lightly in the arm – well, lightly for Yang.

"Hey!" Ruby complained, rubbing her arm. "I –" She cut off her retort when she noticed the glare Weiss was giving her. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Let's go into the hold now?"

She followed them meekly, letting her mind wander as she drifted over to the lockers that lined the walls. Most of them were open and emptied, but a few near the back were closed. When she examined their locks, she found them twisted open, as if someone had melted them. This was clearly the work of Torchwick and his gang.

_What were they trying to steal?_ she wondered. _And how did Blake know? And –_ she froze momentarily as this thought occurred to her – _where did Blake suddenly gain the skills to fight off Torchwick's gang single-handedly? Even all four of us together couldn't send him running very easily_.

Perhaps Blake had gained new powers after she escaped from the Nevermore's stomach. Had she met new people, or gotten a new weapon? It would explain the lack of marks from Gambol Shroud.

"I don't see anything," Weiss said, sounding a mixture of disappointed and puzzled. "Except for the locks, I mean. And a few dents that might have been from Torchwick's cane – there are bumps in the middle that could have occurred because of the hole in the tip for the gun barrel."

"That's true." Ruby glanced at the man to see him nodding, his blonde curls waving slightly. "You're very perceptive."

Ruby half-turned, expecting to see the Ice Queen blush for once – partly as a distraction, partly to gather blackmail material. However, Weiss only pressed her lips together in a line and looked away. It seemed she didn't trust the man enough to accept his compliments freely yet.

Sighing, she turned away and stared at the silver lock in her hand again. She could only think of two reasons for Blake having to stay away from the team – desire to keep her survival a secret while she got stronger, or anger at them for failing to save her. She hoped it was the former, and feared it was the latter.

"There's nothing else here," Yang said tensely. "It looks like she cleaned up well enough to avoid detection, or there was never anything to detect in the first place. I'm sure it was the former."

But as much as Ruby wished Blake was alive, she couldn't forget that the real world wasn't one of her hero novels. There were no deus ex machinas where the main characters appeared to die but came out alive; there was only fighting, and sometimes the main characters survived and sometimes they didn't. There was no in between.

"Let's _go_, Ruby!" Yang sounded annoyed. "We're all waiting, slowpoke!"

Ruby used her semblance again, but she was so distracted that she nearly crashed into Weiss. "Sorry!" she squeaked. "I just… I'm tired," she offered.

Weiss's eyes didn't soften. "I would think that you'd at least pay attention when we're trying to find evidence that Blake is alive!"

"I said I'm sorry!"

"Well, sorry doesn't help anyone."

"Ahem," the man interrupted, frowning slightly. "I believe we're done here. Thank you for your help girls, and I'll probably see you soon – sooner than you think." He saluted to them, almost mockingly.

"Can't wait," Yang muttered.

Ruby gave him a jerky nod. She didn't trust him, but at least he seemed helpful and polite enough, and he did help them look at the fight scene.

He turned and walked to the ladder, preparing to descend. Ruby watched his hair wave stiffly in the sea breeze, and it took her a moment to realise that the thin line of brown right above his neck wasn't the strap of the mask – it was hair, peeking out from what was presumably a wig.

"Hey! What are you doing up here?" someone yelled behind them.

"And that's our cue to leave," Yang announced to Ruby and Weiss.

Ruby stumbled off the ladder after her, but her head was buzzing with new questions. Who was the man, and why did he feel the need to mask his identity (literally and figuratively) so completely? Did he think they'd recognize him without the wig?

And if their investigation turned up nothing, what were they supposed to assume about Blake – was she alive or dead? What was the point of even coming here if their poking around created new questions about Blake and the mysterious man than it answered?

"Ruby, hurry _up_, for Dust's sake!" Yang and Weiss shouted from the depths of the crowd that still milled around the ship.

She did.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, I guess my a-chapter-a-day streak is over...**

**Chapter 7**

Ozpin decided to punish the school at large by not allowing them to skip classes on Monday.

"The events of last night in the city do not pertain to classes here at Beacon," he told the assembled students sternly. "And if I had any thoughts about cancelling classes today, they were dispelled when we discovered that five of the school's airships were stolen – _five_. It's a miracle no one crashed or injured themselves."

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang carefully avoided looking at each other. Ruby sneaked a glance at CFVY and saw them looking smug; Velvet turned and gave her a wink, and Ruby blushed, hoping no one had noticed.

"Nevertheless, consider the continuation of classes to be your punishment for the chaos of this morning. You are all dismissed." Ozpin nodded to Glynda and strode off the stage. The students diffused out of the auditorium through the double doors, chattering with mixed excitement and irritation.

Weiss and Yang drew a little ahead, and Ruby was about to catch up to them when someone grabbed her arm. She half-turned, automatically reaching for Crescent Rose with the speed from her semblance, but found that it was only Winter.

"Oh, uh, hey Winter," she said, trying to smile. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Winter said in a falsely cheerful voice. "I just wanted to talk. We haven't really bonded, have we?" She caught up to Ruby and linked their arms together by their elbows, as though they were little schoolgirls.

"Um, I guess not," Ruby replied with a nervous laugh. She wanted to take her arm back, but worried about offending Winter – the girl had proved to be just as volatile as her older sister when it came to manners and insults.

"Good! So we can start now. What were you guys up to this morning? I went out for a morning walk, and I couldn't find you anywhere."

Ruby's forced smile faded completely as she realised what Winter was doing. "Sorry, but that's something to do with the team, and you haven't really proved to be part of us so far," she said, trying to lower the pitch of her voice so it sounded more serious that what Yang called her usual 'mew'. "If you want to participate in what we do, you have to show commitment and dedication. As team leader –"

"Yeah, yeah," Winter interrupted. "I get it. I've been a witch. Why did I ever expect you to see through it? Clearly even someone my age…" Her voice drifted down into grumbling.

"What?" Ruby stopped and tried to tug on Winter's arm. "See through what? Is there something you're not telling me?" She tried to conjure up the stern expression she imagined a team leader should have with a misbehaving member. "I'm going to have to ask you to –"

"Okay, I get it, you think you're important enough to tell me what to do!" Winter snapped, ripping her arm away from Ruby. "Which is completely untrue, by the way. I'm going to catch up with the rest of our team right now, _team leader._"

"But –" Ruby's protest was lost as Winter stomped off, opening the door into which Yang and Weiss had just disappeared into. The hallway was mostly clear by now as students headed to their classes, though a few still lingered, sorting through books or chatting to friends. An older guy she didn't know gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Tough nut, isn't she?" he said.

Ruby gave him a small smile, feeling awkward. "Tell me about it," she replied, and she scurried into the classroom before he could say anything else.

Ruby, Weiss, and Winter were sitting in their customary spots in the centre of the second-to-last level of the tiered lecture tables. Their teacher, Glynda, stood in the middle of the dueling floor that took up the front of the room. Her lips were pursed and she narrowed her eyes at Ruby, reprimanding her silently for being late. Ruby hurried to her seat, nearly tripping twice in her haste, which made Yang snort quietly.

"I saw Winter held you up," she whispered to Ruby as soon as the latter sank into her seat.

"Yeah, she was trying to find out what we did this morning," Ruby mumbled back, shooting Winter a glance. She didn't understand what made the girl so uptight – one moment, she was acting somewhat nice, and the next she was yelling at Ruby for trying to be team leader. But weren't team leaders supposed to discipline members who didn't act like they belonged to the team? At least, that was what Yang had suggested, back on Winter's second day, though Ruby hadn't tried the suggestion until now.

"Ahem," Glynda cleared her throat. "If you're quite done chatting, I'd like to commence our class. Today will be a practical lesson. Now, I would like Pyrrha to come up first, as a warm-up exercise, if you will. Who wants to challenge her?"

Pyrrha half-stood up, looking awkward as she scanned the classroom. Everyone avoided her gaze – even Ruby – as if making eye contact would force them to duel her.

"Well?" Glynda asked sharply after a few moments. "No volunteers? That's a shame – Pyrrha needs practise just like any of you. You may sit, dear," she added to Pyrrha. The red-haired girl sat down, looking relieved.

_Dear_? Ruby mouthed to Yang.

Her sister smirked. "You just wish she called you that," she whispered back. Ruby stuck out her tongue at her.

"So." Glynda surveyed the class over the rims of her glasses, green eyes glittering with displeasure. "If all of you are so unmoved to practise, I can choose the partners myself. Let's see…"

Everyone held their breath as she tapped her chin with a finger and ran her gaze over them. "Hmm…" she mused. "Who hasn't… Nora! Ren!" she snapped suddenly. "It's your turn. I want you to duel."

Ruby's eyes immediately flicked to the unfortunate pair. They sat a few rows down, and neither of them moved for a few long moments. Then, Ren slowly stood up, followed by Nora. As they began the walk down to the dueling floor, Ruby noticed that Nora's face looked ashen, and Ren was frowning. Her heart went out to them as she imagined herself in their position – she would hate to be forced to duel Yang.

"What's wrong with them?" Winter whispered from her right. Ruby started, and nearly turned to answer when she heard Weiss's voice.

"They're practically blood siblings, dimwit! Can't you tell? You practically can't see one without the other being right behind!"

"Okay, okay, gosh," Winter mumbled angrily. "Can't even ask a question around here…"

Ruby was distracted from their quibble when she saw Nora and Ren take their positions on opposite sides of the floor. A wave of murmurs swept through the enlivened class as both of them raised their weapons, then slowly lowered them again, almost in unison.

"I can't duel Nora, Professor Glynda," Ren said quietly. "Could you please pick someone else to duel me?"

Glynda surveyed them with narrowed eyes. "They say the best way to get to know a person is to fight them," she said after a few seconds. "This will be a good exercise, helping you to learn each other's fighting styles even better. Please continue."

"But Professor!" Nora burst out, her face uncharacteristically distressed. "I can fight anyone else, even Pyrrha! Please, just don't make me fight Ren. I don't want to!"

"You can't always get what you want, Nora," Glynda said sharply. "I have chosen your partners, and you will duel. Unless anyone else wants to step in for one of them?"

Everyone looked away, avoiding eye contact with Ren and Nora. Ruby was torn between a sense of duty to her friends – making them fight each other was cruel – and her own unwillingness to fight them. They were her friends too…

"No one?" Glynda raised her eyebrows. "Then –"

Ruby's hand twitched, and she almost stood up until someone beat her to it.

"I'll fight Ren!"

Winter had stood up so quickly that she wobbled a little on her feet. Beside her, Weiss's face had a mixture of shock and anger, but she didn't try to stop her sister as Winter edged her way into the aisle and trotted down to the dueling floor. Ruby glanced at Nora and Ren – both showed surprise, though Nora looked relieved and Ren looked wary. They knew how bratty Winter usually was.

"What's Winter doing?" Ruby whispered to Weiss.

"Dust only knows," Weiss breathed, her eyes locked on Winter.

"Winter?" Glynda blinked several times. "Well, thank you for volunteering. We haven't seen you fight this year yet, have we? I hear your semblance is something to be feared. Have a seat, Nora."

Nora threw Winter a quick, grateful smile as she practically bounced back up to her team's table again. Ruby could only see Winter's back, but she saw no visible reaction to Nora.

"How is she going to fight if she's only here as an illusion?" Yang whispered to Ruby.

"That's… a good point," Ruby realised, frowning. "Ren's really good, too. I wonder how she thinks she'll beat him."

"What if she's just doing it to help Nora out?"

Weiss scoffed. "Winter doesn't help people, Yang. She's got some ulterior motive."

Meanwhile, Glynda stepped back to the edge of the floor, and Winter and Ren took their positions on opposite sides of the circle. Ren raised StormFlower, the emerald blades difficult to see against his green tailcoat.

Winter reached for the sheath that hung from the belt wrapped around her dress's waist and withdrew a dagger about as long as her forearm. Ruby saw violet designs etched along the black blade, and wondered if they were violet Dust, which produced hazes and shadows when used in combat. Winter's stance remained relaxed, and she merely stood on the floor and calmly stared at her opponent. Her pose seemed to project confidence, but Ruby instinctively felt that something was a little off, as if this wasn't her natural battling stance.

Ren glanced at Glynda, who gave a nod, signaling that he could start the duel. Immediately, Ren ran at Winter, brandishing the right half of StormFlower as he struck at Winter's torso.

Winter brought her blade up and clumsily parried with the flat edge; StormFlower's blade screeched against hers, and Ruby winced, imagining the scratch it must've left on Winter's dagger. Ren swung the left half of StormFlower at Winter, and Winter blocked again, though her arm was almost nicked. She kicked at Ren's feet, but he dodged easily and sprung back.

"He's testing her," Yang muttered. "And so far, she sucks…"

"I told you, Weiss doesn't _train_," Weiss interjected. "It's beneath her."

Ruby remained silent, her fingers twitching anxiously. She longed to run down there and correct Winter's form, or even grab her dagger and fight Ren herself. Now she realised what was wrong with Winter's stance – it felt unnatural, too relaxed for someone who was supposed to be adept in battle. She winced as Winter's foot twisted clumsily underneath her and she fell backwards, her dagger falling out of her loose grip.

Ren advanced on her and brought his foot up to kick the dagger far away from Winter's slender fingers, but suddenly another Winter appeared behind him, looking identical to the first. She swung her dagger at the right half of StormFlower and knocked it out of Ren's hand, while the first Winter used the distraction to grab her dagger and scramble to her feet.

Ren instantly ducked, anticipating Winter's kick at his left hand, and grabbed his fallen pistol. Before either Winter could trap him, he rolled out of the way and sprang to his feet again, regaining his natural poise, and faced both Winters.

Ruby blinked at the Winters. There was no way to distinguish them; standing side by side, they matched so identically that it was clear that trying to label them would fail as soon as they started running around again.

"Huh," Weiss mumbled. "I haven't her fight with her illusion for years."

Yang shook her head, her golden curls brushing Ruby's shoulder. "Impressive, but she _really_ needs to practise."

"I wonder what her weapon does," Ruby said, watching both Winters's daggers closely. "Does an illusion dagger still has the same properties as the real one?"

The Winters suddenly ran at Ren, each swinging her dagger in perfect unison. Ren blocked them with StormFlower, but as the Winters withdrew, one of the daggers began leaving behind a shadowy haze that trailed after it like a scattering of dust. A Winter swung the dagger at Ren's torso while the other aimed a kick at his legs. He jumped and parried the dagger, but the Winter waved it at his face several times, not even trying to attack him.

While Ren attempted to do a somersault backwards out of the hazy area around his head, the other Winter disappeared and reappeared right behind him, immediately grabbing him clumsily and holding her dagger to his neck. Ren froze, immediately lowering his weapons, and the Winter with the hazy dagger stepped forward and pried StormFlower out of his hands. Ruby noted that she accidentally put herself in the way of the pistols several times; if Ren were really her enemy, he could have shot her, knowing that this was the real Winter and that the illusion would disappear as soon as she was dead.

There were a few moments of silence. No one really knew how to react; much of the audience, judging by the surprised/irritated looks on their faces, had been rooting for Ren. The boy was well-liked and respected, while Winter was… well, Winter.

Glynda stepped forward at last, her fingers tapping rapidly on the screen of her tablet. "You may release him, Winter," she said. "Thank you for dueling. Please shake hands."

The Winter illusion disappeared, and the real Winter stepped forward, holding her arm out stiffly. Ren shook it, and Winter handed him StormFlower. He didn't look upset, only calm.

"Winter, while you used your semblance well, there needs to be… improvement in your basic battle skills. I know you didn't take the normal aptitude tests required for admittance into Beacon, but I expect to see you honing your skills with your team in the next few weeks." She narrowed her eyes at RWY, as if she guessed that they weren't getting along with Winter very well. "You are dismissed."

Winter gave her a curt bow, and returned to her seat, walking with her chin high despite the fact that everyone in the room was staring at her. Glynda called the next two students to duel, but Ruby tuned her out as soon as she realised she didn't know the names.

"That was a good battle," she told Winter cautiously.

She sniffed haughtily, crossing her legs under the table and staring fixedly at the dueling floor. "No, it wasn't. And I suppose –" she coughed slightly – "I have to train to become better. So, when is the next team practise?"

"What makes you think we want to train you?" Weiss asked snidely.

Winter looked at her, then turned to meet Ruby's and Yang's gazes. "Because I'm trying to change," she said calmly, her aristocratic features completely serious. "I tried to do a selfless act, and I'm offering it as a sign of peace. Will you accept it?"

Ruby looked at Yang. Her sister shrugged, giving Winter an appraising glance. "I can give her another chance."

"You know what I think of her," Weiss said before Ruby could make eye contact. "But I am willing to consider it if she continues acting maturely."

"Okay," Ruby replied, feeling relieved as she realised her team's opinion matched her own. She met Winter's clear grey eyes. "Then we accept your offer. Our next training is tomorrow afternoon in the gym, but I expect you to join us in the library tonight to study."

Winter nodded curtly, and all four of them turned back to the floor in time to see Glynda summon Jaune and Pyrrha.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks Tatopatato and Syncogon for your reviews. Again, if anyone has constructive criticism or compliments, please leave a review. It's one of the best feelings when I get the review email in my inbox.**

**Chapter 8**

On Thursday morning, RWWY was sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch; they usually ate with JNPR, but Jaune and Pyrrha were nowhere to be found, while Nora and Ren had just left them, claiming a need for fresh air. The pair had taken a liking to Winter after the favour she had done them on Monday, and she treated them with cautious politeness. Ruby could see the potential for friendship, although it miffed her a little that Winter liked Nora and Ren more than she liked her own team.

Ruby picked up her spoon to take another mouthful of milk and cereal when the table shook abruptly, making her drop the spoon into her bowl. "Hey!" she complained, wiping milk off her sleeve. "What –"

"I have important news," Pyrrha's voice interrupted in an excited whisper. Ruby looked up and saw Pyrrha leaning over across the table, staring at RWWY with her hands firmly on the surface as if she had just slammed them down. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Calm down, Pyrrha," Jaune said as he came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You almost gave Ruby a heart attack."

Ruby didn't miss Pyrrha's blush as Jaune sat beside Pyrrha and pulled her down to sit next to him. She wanted to shake her head at their obliviousness.

"What's the news?" Yang asked from Ruby's left, cereal bits spraying out of her full mouth. She hastily wiped them off the table, but Weiss had already noticed.

"Barbaric," she muttered, wiping her own mouth daintily on a napkin. "Well, Pyrrha?"

"There's been another attack," Pyrrha told them in a hushed tone. "My aunt called me this morning, she saw the whole thing – it was on her street. A bunch of guys in Grimm masks were trying to break into a store, and something started attacking them. They were making such a racket that she looked out the window and saw them all running around looking like they were about to pee their pants. Then there were a few explosions, and a fire started right on the street – she saw the shadow silhouetted against it. It was jumping around so fast that she could barely make out what it looked like, but she thought she saw it holding swords or long daggers in its hands."

"Then what happened?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide.

"Then the police came. The shadow disappeared, but they managed to capture a couple of those guys, my aunt said. Then she got scared and went back to bed." Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "But what do you think?"

"It has to be Blake," Yang said, slamming her fist on the table. "The twin swords were Gambol Shroud. She was attacking guys in Grimm masks – that's the White Fang for sure."

"But if she's alive, then why hasn't she come back yet?" Jaune asked, unconsciously mirroring the question Ruby had asked herself on Monday. "Wouldn't it make sense to rejoin the team?"

"Especially now that pretty much everyone thinks she's back from the dead. There's no point hiding her identity," Weiss added. "But maybe there's strategic sense to what she's doing? I mean, if she really came back, she'd be restricted by the authorities again… this way, she's free to do what she wants." Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at her pale hands. "I wish I had that power."

"Or maybe it's because of me," Winter spoke suddenly, startling everyone. She was sitting quietly a foot or two away, to Ruby's right, and picking moodily at her oatmeal. "She might think I've replaced her."

"But how would she know you're even here?" Pyrrha asked. "I think Weiss is right. Right now she's fighting a guerilla war from a completely different front. That's the best way she can help us right now."

Ruby stared at her team, and wondered what would happen if all the hope they were placing in Blake was false. She was the first one to be the optimist, to believe in the happy endings, but after losing Blake so suddenly, she couldn't bring herself to share their hope in case it came crashing down around their ears again. She wasn't ready to accept that her friend might be alive when she wasn't done accepting that she might be dead.

A tear trickled down her cheek, traced her jaw, and dripped onto her milk-stained sleeve.

"Ruby?" Jaune's voice trickled into her ear. "Are you alright?"

Everyone around her had stopped talking. She couldn't see their faces, but she saw the edge of Winter's cloak – Winter had scooted closer to her.

"Is it about Blake?" Yang asked Ruby, placing an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "I know we don't know why she hasn't come back –"

"No, we don't know if she's alive at all!" Ruby interrupted, looking up to meet her sister's eyes. "Please, I know you all really, really want her to be the shadow, but you don't know it is for sure! What if it's just an illusion… an illusion of… hope…" She trailed off, her eyes widening as she realised something.

Ruby looked up in time to see Winter stand up, nearly knocking her oatmeal over. "I'm not having this conversation in a cafeteria," she told them flatly. "I know what you're thinking, but I'd like to ask you to think just a _little_ more before you go making accusations you will regret." She stalked off, not looking at any of her teammates.

There was a moment of awkward silence when everyone exchanged looks. "What was that about?" Jaune asked finally, staring at Ruby with confusion.

Pyrrha seemed to get it faster. "But I thought her illusion isn't solid," she said. "It never touched Ren when they fought…"

"It's not solid," Weiss said quickly, coming to the defense of her sister, much to Ruby's surprise. "She can make it a perfect copy of herself, but it can't affect the physical world."

Ruby bit her tongue at the lie. Pyrrha was their friend… then again, Jaune was here too, and there was no telling whom he'd blab the truth to. Weiss was right – they had to keep it a secret, at least until Winter revealed the extent of her illusion's power of her own accord.

"Oh. Then why was she so upset?" Pyrrha asked, looking directly at Ruby.

"Um…I'm not sure. I guess she's trying to be nice to us, and she got mad at me for implying that she would lead us on like that?" She tried a smile, keeping her fingers interlaced in her lap so she didn't give her nervousness away by scratching her head.

"Well, she probably deserves an apology then," Pyrrha suggested gently, smiling at Ruby. "Anyways, Jaune and I have to go. We have team practise in half an hour. See you guys!"

They chorused their goodbyes, and Pyrrha and Jaune left, with Pyrrha leading Jaune by the sleeve while he stumbled after her haplessly. Yang shook her head at their antics, and then turned to Ruby. "I assume Winter was angry because you thought she was Blake?"

"Um…" Ruby hesitated, then slowly got out of her seat. "Well… I'd hate to think that about her… but it might be true… right?"

"Even Winter isn't that coldhearted," Weiss said, also standing up. "She's lazy and spoiled, but I know she stops short of messing around with other people's heads."

Yang sighed impatiently. "I think you're overreacting, Ruby," she said. "Will someone help me up?"

Weiss stepped away pointedly, so Ruby had to grab her sister's upraised arms and pull her out of the bench. Because Yang was heavier, she ended up dropping her on the floor by accident.

"Ow! My butt!" Yang yelled, eliciting a lot of confused stares from other eaters. "I'll make you pay for this, Ruby!"

"Eep! Run!" Ruby squeaked, grabbing Weiss by the arm and dragging her out of the cafeteria.

"You're hurting my sensitive shoulders," Weiss complained, pulling herself free once they reached the hallway. "You're giving me a two-hour massage tonight to make the pain go away."

"Ha, ha," Ruby laughed sarcastically. "Yang's probably going to make me massage her butt instead."

"That's right I am!" Yang crashed out of the cafeteria and into Ruby. "You little twerp! Where's your upper body strength?"

"Ow! Stop hitting me!" Ruby pinched Yang in the arm, and Yang immediately let go, yelping with pain. "Where's Winter, anyway?"

"Right here."

All three of them stopped fooling around (well, Ruby and Yang did) and looked around, searching for the source of the voice. They found Winter sitting on the windowsill of one of the great, arching windows that looked into the central courtyard. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and she was staring at the fountain. As they watched, a second Winter melted into view, sitting across from the first in a mirrored pose.

Ruby cleared her throat and looked around at her teammates, who nudged her forward; Yang looked sympathetic, while Weiss didn't bother to hide her yawn. "You can face her first," she mumbled. "You're the line leader."

Ruby sighed and looked back at the Winters, feeling a knot in her throat begin to gather. On one hand, it seemed like the perfect solution – Winter was using her illusion to pretend to be the shadow, and almost no one suspected her because she didn't tell everyone how strong her illusion really was. Even Glynda didn't know because the fake Winter had never touched Ren.

On the other hand… this was her teammate, who had helped Ren and Nora out, who had tried to make amends and become a real part of RWWY. Ruby didn't want to believe the worst of her, because she saw that Winter was making at least some attempt to change.

"Erm… hey, Winter," she said too loudly, walking closer to the windowsill. "Look, I'm sorry for suggesting you were the shadow… I know you wouldn't put hope into our heads like that, you'd just tell us…"

"It's alright," the first Winter said. "I know everyone thinks I'm a spoiled brat. It's the most natural conclusion. But I'm not Blake – I can't be. My illusion can only be a human, and the only way it works to its full potential is if it's my identical body. If even one thing is wrong, then it stops being solid." She turned to lock her grey eyes with Ruby's. "Here. Look."

The illusion Winter disappeared, and a Ruby suddenly appeared in the middle of the hallway, facing the real Ruby, Yang, and Weiss. She looked a lot like the real Ruby, but there were slight differences – the face was too pointed, the legs were too long, and the hair framed her face too evenly. She was an older, slightly more aristocratic version of Ruby.

"See?" Winter said after giving them a few moments to study the illusion. "And if you touch her, she's completely immaterial. Your skin is so pale, Ruby, that fake-you might even be translucent in places. Here, have a look." The fake Ruby vanished and reappeared right in front of the real Ruby, who stretched her fingers out tentatively to touch her not-quite-mirror self, and found that her hand passed through easily.

"Creepy," she murmured, shivering a little.

Yang and Weiss stepped forward as well, and each passed her hand through fake Ruby's face. "Interesting," was all Weiss said.

"So you can't do Blake at all, then?" Yang challenged Winter. "Not even a try? I want to see how you do her."

Winter stared at her with narrowed eyes. "I've never seen her in person. It's impossible to form an image of someone you've never met."

"Huh. Well then, I guess I believe you." Yang cheered up a little. "I'm glad you're not a lying secret-keeper, then!"

Winter turned to stare out the window again without smiling. Ruby thought she looked desperately sad for a moment, before her expression became impassive again. "Glad that's sorted, then."

Ruby realised that it was time to change topics, especially if Winter felt uncomfortable with the fact that she had to prove her trustworthiness. "Well, guys, would you look at the time!" she said cheerfully, pretending to check her watch. "I think it's time for History of Vale! Let's go head down there."

The others voiced their assent, except Winter, who stood and brushed off her dress. "Sorry guys, but I have to go," she said quietly. "I'll join you later."

"With your real body, I hope?" Weiss asked sharply.

"Yeah… yeah." Winter glanced back at the window, ignoring her sister's tone. "See you."

After she left through the double doors to head outside, Yang and Weiss exchanged glances. "I vote we follow her," Yang said, and looked at Ruby.

"I second that notion," Weiss announced. "I still don't trust her."

Ruby frowned, looking at the doors. "I think she just proved that she's trustworthy, didn't she? She was willing to show us another secret about her semblance. It would be unfair to just go behind her back right after and follow her, as if we think she's a spy." She nodded to herself firmly. "We're not following her, guys. Let's go to class."

Yang shrugged, not seeming too upset. "I thought you'd say that. Lead on, little sis."

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms, but nevertheless followed Ruby down the hallway along the lengthy route to lecture hall four.

-x-

A girl with luscious black hair stepped out from behind one of the red velvet curtains that framed the giant windows. She watched the retreating backs of RWY, then looked outside in time to see Winter disappear around the corner of another building. Her eyes flashed orange as she smirked to herself, and she shook her head in mock pity. "Poor little princess, aren't you? But don't worry – you haven't fooled me with all that stupid illusion nonsense. I can see _right_ through you," she purred.

Cinder smoothed down her dress and briefly ignited the orange Dust embedded in her sleeves, before allowing it to subside. It wasn't time to reveal her powers yet – she needed to figure out Winter's game, as well as take RWY out of action, before she could burn this wretched school to the ground like it deserved.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"So Winter," Ruby said casually after team training one day. "I noticed you don't use your weapon that much, so I didn't really get to look at it. What model is it? Does it have a name?"

Winter took out her knife and examined it casually, running a finger along the violet designs. "It's just a dagger, I guess. I never named it. My father made me get it to practise fighting with, and I asked for just a normal dagger but they told me they didn't even _make_ Dust-less weapons anymore, so I got the least obvious kind of Dust they had. I don't use it that much."

"What?!" Ruby's mouth dropped open, and she nearly tripped over her own feet. "It doesn't even have a name? You don't use it? You don't know what model – it doesn't have a pistol – you wanted it to be Dust-less?! But Dust is so useful!" She hurriedly took out Crescent Rose. "I mean, look at this! One of the reasons it's so portable is because the larger pieces of metal were tempered in grey Dust, which helps them fold into really, really small pieces. And then for the rifle part, I can insert Dust bullets and each one can either act independently or alter my semblance. And then for the actual scythe –" she unfolded it with a quick movement, making Winter stumble backwards, eyes flashing with alarm – "it's tempered with dark blue Dust, which makes it really really strong."

"Um, that's nice," Winter said cautiously, eyeing the scythe. "And what does that have to do with my dagger?"

"I was just giving examples of why Dust is important!" Ruby explained. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm down, but her excitement was too high already, and her voice came out as a stream of blurred syllables. "And that means when you choose Dust modifications you have to think really hard about what kind of weapon you want to have and whether you want it to be a blade or a sniper rifle or a chain scythe or a grappling tool or a rapier or gauntlets and so on and what your fighting style is and whether you want multi action which requires a lot of training to master or whether you prefer a single type weapon but then your options are really limited and most people here prefer mu–"

"Okay, okay!" Winter interrupted, pressing her palm to Ruby's mouth. Her hand was cold and smooth, like scales. "I know you know a lot about weapons, but you need to calm down, okay?"

Ruby nodded mutely, and Winter released her. "But I just wanted to tell you about weapons, and why it's really important to choose them carefully," she said meekly, folding Crescent Rose back into its portable shape and slinging it over her back again. "And even more important is naming your weapon. It makes it personal, and infuses a bit of your Aura into it so that it becomes a little more powerful when you use it. It's a bonding experience."

Winter raised an eyebrow politely. "Sounds like someone needs a serious deficiency of friends to think of all this stuff."

"Hey! I have friends! And it wasn't even me who made it up," Ruby added hastily. "It was some… guy. I forget his name."

"Right."

"I'm serious!"

"Sure you are," Winter sneered.

Ruby wasn't sure if Winter was still joking around – it was hard to tell. She decided to drop it.

"Hey, so… what's going on with you and Weiss?" As soon as she blabbed the question, she winced. _Stupid big fat mouth!_

Winter stiffened. "Nothing. It's her problem, not mine."

"Well, maybe you guys should talk it out," Ruby suggested, not seeing any graceful way of dropping this subject too. "I mean, you've really changed since you got here, I think. You've gotten really mellow."

"Mellow?" Winter repeated dangerously. "Just because I've spent a little time with you all doesn't make me a harmless kitten like you!"

"I didn't say you were harmless!" Ruby backtracked, taking a few steps backward just in case. Her back bumped into a wall, and she quickly glanced around, but their hallway was empty of witnesses. What if Winter tried to murder her?!

"Mellow is just about the same thing in my book," Winter said coldly. She drew her cloak closer around herself and glared at Ruby. "You'd better rethink your perceptions if you think someone like _me_ can ever appear to be mellow."

Ruby blinked. "Um, okay. Sorry." She almost rolled her eyes, a bad habit she'd picked up from Yang, but stopped herself just in time. She cast about for another change in topic. "I think we have our Studies of Grimm class right now. Should we go?"

"Not with you, thanks," Winter said, and stalked off.

Ruby sighed as she watched her go. Winter seemed almost bipolar at times – cautiously friendly at some times, but harsh and biting at others. She mentally noted two of the things that ticked her off – Weiss, and being called mellow. _And pretty much anything else, when she's in a bad mood._

Yang and Weiss had gone to get hot chocolate, but had promised to get to class on time for once not that Professor Port would notice – he had a soft spot for Weiss). Ruby was left to wander back to her dormitory for a quick break before class started, but what was the point? She had everything she needed with her: Crescent Rose, her notebooks in her backpack, and her brain. Yes, it was important to carry her brain around at all times. Lack of a brain tended to cause problems in functioning.

She giggled half-heartedly at her joke, but Winter's attitude still weighed heavily on her mind. Unbidden, a memory of Blake rose into her head. Blake had never been so stubborn and snappish with her team, even when running on two hours of sleep and a night of research on her laptop. There was something inherently calm about her, like a needle that always pointed north. Winter was more of a needle that spun in all directions.

Ruby squeezed her hands into fists, trying to think happy thoughts. _Blake might be alive. I might see her again. She might be waiting for me to find her._

She looked up, and saw an achingly familiar silhouette leaning against the wall in front of her for a split-second, before she blinked and it disappeared.

Two weeks, and the pain was as fresh as ever. _Does it ever go away?_

-x-

No one spoke when Ruby settled into her desk and began unpacking. Yang grunted and continued sipping her hot chocolate, Winter sat rigidly straight and stared fixedly at Professor Port's diagram of a Nevermore, and Weiss fiddled with the strap to her bag.

Ruby was saved from her desire to fix the awkward silence by Professor Port's booming voice. "Welcome, class! It's a fine day for studying how to kill our greatest enemies, the mighty Grimm! Of course, as Hunters and Huntresses –" he winked creepily at Weiss, who cringed – "we must always be prepared to study our enemies, no matter if it's rain or shine outside! Now," he clapped his hands together, his meaty palms rippling, "I have a little surprise for you today! I believe it's about time for a practical exam, to assess what you know about killing Grimm!"

A half-hearted murmur of excitement rose from the lecture tables. A few of the teams were already asleep, though some, like RWWY and JNPR, at least tried to pay attention.

"Well?" Port asked impatiently after no one did anything for a few moments. "Aren't you going to ask me what kinds of Grimm you'll be facing?"

"What kinds of Grimm will we be facing?" someone called out.

"Thank you!" Port looked too delighted at the participation to question who had spoken out of turn. "Well, last week I asked our elite teams to capture us a few special Grimm, similar to the ones you faced in the Emerald Forest. They are each several hundred years old, very large, and very difficult to kill when faced in their natural environment." He paused to let this sink in. "Which is why we'll be practicing against them in _our_ natural environment! And since no one died in the Emerald Forest –" he chuckled as if the statement was actually funny –"I will assume that all of you are well up to this task!"

"What an idiot," Yang mumbled into her mug. "Just because no one died in the Emerald Forest doesn't mean these things aren't dangerous. I mean, Blake –" She stopped and took a hasty sip of hot chocolate, which immediately made her start coughing. Ruby hit her on the back a few times, and pretended that Yang's eyes were wet from coughing and the hot liquid as Yang wiped the tears away hastily.

"…our first team will be – allow me to present to you with the utmost respect – JNPR!"

"Oh, this should be interesting," Ruby said happily, clapping politely. "I bet they'll get a Death Stalker."

"Nah, maybe a King Taijitsu," Yang commented, setting down her mug and finally paying full attention to the class. "Remember Ren told us he fought one? I'd like to see that again. They sound like a tough challenge."

Winter made an odd coughing noise, and quickly brought her sleeve up to her nose. Ruby observed her behaviour with bafflement. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing, just a sneeze," Winter said. "I'm fine, really. Quit staring!"

Well, that was characteristic of her. Ruby shrugged at Weiss, who had looked over as well, and turned to watch the battle.

JNPR lined up to face the giant doors that led to the Grimm holding cells. Pyrrha stood in front with her spear pointing straight up, while Jaune held his sword confidently next to her, Nora hefted Magnhild, and Ren took his battle stance with StormFlower. They looked poised and confident, in stark contrast with the portly figure of Port, who toddled around them and gave them advice in his booming voice. Jaune was listening intently, but Ruby thought she saw Pyrrha's spear twitch, as if she longed to whack Port on the head with it.

Port gave them a few more instructions, then stepped back and smoothed his moustache down importantly. A hush fell over the lecture hall, and Ruby watched with baited breath as Port strode calmly to the metal doors and pressed a passcode into the digital lock on the side.

The doors – or rather, gates – slid open slowly and soundlessly. The darkness within yawned menacingly for a moment, until a glimmer of red eyes appeared. JNPR tensed, shifting subtly until all their weapons pointed at the opening.

"Very good, very good," Port declared, walking along the perimeter of the room to the far end until he stood behind JNPR. "Excellent stances!"

"I bet it's a Taijitsu," Yang whispered to Ruby. "Twenty cents."

"Twenty-five cents it's a Death Stalker," Ruby parried.

The glow of the red eyes disappeared for a moment – and suddenly, a huge shadow made of bristling black feathers hurtled out of the opening. The Nevermore spread its wings to a span of nearly ten feet, brushing against the front wall with one wingtip and the desks of the front row with the other. Students scrambled back in alarm, trying not to attract attention to themselves with noise while they scrabbled for their weapons.

"I-I guess we both lose," Ruby whispered. She stared at the Nevermore, and in her mind's eye it grew bigger, with a wingspan of fifteen feet, whirling and screeching as a dark shadow leaped and spun around it with a black ribbon. Pyrrha's spear gleamed as she thrust it into one of the Grimm's four bloodred eyes – it looked like the amber gleam of Blake's eyes as the cat faunus glanced back at her team to make sure they were alright, her face alight with the excitement of battle. Hundreds of memories assaulted Ruby before she was able to collect herself, and for a moment she forgot that she was in a classroom, not the dark southern forest where this bird's brethren swallowed Blake Belladonna.

"Ruby! Ruby! Wake up!" Winter's voice seemed to come from a distance, and Ruby clutched at it desperately as if it were a lifeline to safety. Cool hands pulled her up, back into her seat, and when her head stopped spinning she made out the watery grey gleam of Winter's eyes.

"Why are you crying?" she asked shakily. "You didn't even know her…"

"No, it's you who's crying," Winter said, blinking slowly. "And your nose is running…"

"Yang, NO!" Weiss shouted abruptly, shooting out of her seat. Her face was flushed and tears glimmered in her eyes too, but her expression horrified, not grief-stricken.

Ruby forgot all about her tears as she looked around for Yang. A roar of rage echoed around the hall, and students dived under their seats when they saw a furious blur of yellow descend on the Nevermore. Jaune barely avoided her by flattening himself to the ground as Yang leaped at the bird's head, pummeling it with Ember Celica. Pyrrha used its confusion to stick her spear in its chest, but it did hardly any damage, and the Nevermore only shook her off and shrieked.

"What are you doing!?" Professor Port blustered, but he seemed hesitant to approach and drag Yang away. Ruby wanted to jump after her sister and help her, but Weiss was already leaping down the tables, drawing Myrtenaster and jumping straight on the Nevermore's back.

Yang gave another scream of fury, and the tips of her hair literally caught on fire. The Nevermore's mask began to crack under the fury of her blows; its red eyes seemed to widen with terror, and it didn't even try to attack Yang, instead frantically backing away as though it thought it could shelter back in its cage. JNPR backed out of the way hastily, and the entire room watched as Weiss and Yang took on the Grimm on their own.

Ruby made a move to jump after them, but Winter pulled her back. "Stay!" she hissed. "You'll only get into more trouble. How will killing this random Nevermore bring Blake back? All you're doing is satisfying your urge for bloodlust! Do you want to become as monstrous as a – as a Grimm?"

Ruby hesitated at these words, unconsciously fingering Crescent Rose. In her moment of inaction, the battle ended. The Nevermore's head finally imploded under the force of Yang's blows, and its body was simultaneously encased in ice from Weiss's rapier. Both girls were pink with exertion, but Weiss looked relieved while Yang's eyes were still red with fury.

"Give me more!" she screeched. "Give me another Nevermore, and I'll do it all again! I'll kill every Nevermore until Blake comes back and sees their corpses!"

"Miss Yang Xiao Long!" Port yelled, his moustache quivering with anger. For once, his voice was not jovial, but rather shook with anger. "How dare you interfere with another group's test? How dare you disobey direct orders to stay in your seat and observe the matches silently? How dare you act so foolishly? When I was young, students were whipped for such insolence!"

"Blah, blah, blah, old man," Yang mocked him. "You don't even know what you're talking about. I bet you've never lost a team member to a filthy raven monster!"

Ruby winced. Beside her, Winter's face was paler than ever, but she looked very calm – almost relieved, in fact. _Is she happy that Yang and Weiss are probably being punished?_

"I'd do the same if I'd lost a friend," Winter said, still staring at the confrontation.

_Never mind_.

"Do you have any childhood friends?" Ruby asked before she could stop herself. _Stupid mouth, stupid blabby mouth!_

Winter scowled. "Stop asking dumb questions."

_That's a no, then_.

Port told Jaune to go fetch the janitor, then sent NPR back to their seats. "It seems we'll have to put off our test for another time," he grunted, scowling at Yang. "Miss Long, you and Miss Schnee can come with me." For once, he didn't wink or smile at Weiss, who scoffed and went to stand by Yang. "Class dismissed."

Winter bolted for the door, leaving half her notebooks behind. Ruby stared after her for a moment, wondering whether she was sick, before shrugging and gathering up her forgotten possessions (all of them with a uniform grey cover). She gave Yang and Weiss a half-hearted wave and went outside, but Winter was nowhere to be seen, so she joined NPR instead to discuss Yang's berserk Nevermore murder.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"That was a pretty wild fight," Pyrrha commented. "It's a shame we didn't get to fight that Nevermore, though. I'd like to get revenge on Blake too."

"All of us have a lot of pent-up anger right now," Ren said, gently pulling Nora away from the cafeteria doors. "It's not dinner yet, Nora."

"But I can smell cookies," Nora complained, staring intently through the crack in the doors. "I bet one of the older teams snuck in and got the cooks to make them food! Why can't we do that too? Oh, it's probably because we're not old enough. But we deserve cookies! Professor Port just unleashed a Grimm on us and I need my energy back. Hey, has anyone seen my pink pen? I think I dropped it somewhere when we were walking from the dorms…"

As usual, by the third sentence Ren was the only one listening to her chatter. Pyrrha and Ruby let their one-sided conversation fade into the background.

"Anyway, so how are you feeling?" Pyrrha asked. "I know it must be hard, facing a Nevermore. Does it bring back painful memories?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, casting her gaze on the ground. "I don't really want to talk about it, sorry."

"That's alright," Pyrrha sympathized, clapping a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It's always hard when you're faced with the circumstances. I'm lucky – I've never encountered snow Dust since it killed my mum. And anyway, all I remember is the cold."

Ruby nodded. "I don't remember when I lost my mum. Yang always says I was really upset, but I didn't remember what was happening."

Pyrrha didn't say anything for a few moments. "Still, Yang shouldn't have gone into a rage like that. All she did was get herself into trouble. She should've been more reasonable."

For some reason, this stung Ruby, and she felt the need to defend her sister. "We've all been through a really traumatic experience! I don't think I'll ever be able to even look at a Nevermore without wanting to kill it. They won't punish her for something like that."

"But Beacon teaches us restraint," Pyrrha argued. "We have to be able to control our emotions, not let them splash all over the place, on other things and other people."

"Not everyone is as controlled as you, though," Ruby said, trying to sound reasonable. Somehow, she doubted Pyrrha really understood how much Blake's death had really affected Yang, and Ruby and Weiss to a lesser extent. JNPR was still happily together, and they'd only known Blake distantly – of course they wouldn't understand, no matter how much empathy they tried to show.

"I know. But that's the point of attending Beacon, right? Learning to control ourselves, and focus our skills into good Hunting and grace, not just raging all over the place."

"Yes. But it's also about learning how to cope with loss, and Yang's fight was a part of that," Ruby replied, spreading her hands. "Wait, where are Ren and Nora?"

"Probably went to get cookies," Pyrrha said, turning back to look for them. The hallway was empty except for someone reading at the far end, and Ruby's heart jolted painfully for a moment before she realised the person was wearing a black hat, not a bow.

Ruby was about to change the conversation topic, but Pyrrha turned back to her again, a serious glint in her eye. "But coping with loss shouldn't involve violence. Living a life of fighting has taught me that violence is almost never the answer."

"Then why are you Hunting?" Ruby challenged. She didn't understand why Pyrrha's philosophies were rubbing her the wrong way today, but as usual, her mouth blabbed on before she could censor her words. "Maybe you should be a model for cereal boxes for a living instead. I heard Jaune really likes your cereal."

"_What?_" Pyrrha said, raising her eyebrows.

"Jaune, you know Jaune, right? If you were as reasonable as you said, maybe you'd see that you two are completely pining after each other! Sometimes you need to stop trying to solve other people's problems and just think about your own for a second!" Ruby burst out, her voice trembling a little. She immediately clapped her hand to her mouth, feeling horrified, but the damage was done – Pyrrha's green eyes were watering.

"I thought you were a nice, level-headed person," she choked out. "I guess I was wrong."

"Wait, Pyrrha, I'm –" She stopped, because as much as she hated to admit it, she _wasn't_ sorry. Pyrrha could be so stubborn sometimes, refusing to see something that was plain to everyone around her because she thought it was other people's problems she was supposed to fix.

But Pyrrha was already striding off, her blood-red hair whipping Ruby violently on the nose.

Ruby fingered her nose miserably, kicking the wall with her toe (and immediately wincing with pain). First Winter, now this. She tried to be nice to everyone, but all she ended up doing was ruining relationships. She wouldn't be surprised if Pyrrha never spoke to her again.

-x-

Weiss almost never felt cold anymore. Her hair could turn into ice Dust for all she cared, and she would still be alive. She would not be surprised if the doctors declared that her body was an anomaly and maintained homeostasis at the freezing point of water.

She never felt warmth, either. She could probably step into an oven and only notice the heat when her skin began flaking off her flesh.

She recalled that sometimes people called her condition _numb_, but she preferred to think of herself as impenetrable by weather.

Thus, the November chill did not bother her, and she dispassionately trod on every frosted leaf that dared to lie in her path on the cobbled road. The school grounds were crisp, every landmark outlined in a thin thread of white; Beacon looked like a fairy tale castle as the first ray of sunlight hit the spire of its uppermost tower.

Of course, Weiss had left fairy tales behind long ago, in a very different castle that had witnessed countless shouting matches between her and Winter. She blinked to dispel the images, and rubbed her ears absently to get rid of the echoes of their raised voices. She was strong now. When her sister won their verbal battles with a well-timed scream for assistance, she did not hide in the black room of the White Castle to avoid punishment. When the White Fang attacked, she did not run to her mother to hide from her father's rages.

With a shake of her head, making her ponytail quiver, she returned to the present. In the distance, she spied a figure in white and grey clothing, and immediately assumed the worst. Of course, she was correct. It was Winter.

After a moment of consideration, Weiss continued walking unhurriedly back towards the school. If Winter wanted to speak, she would approach. She was always direct when it came to confrontations.

Weiss braced herself as Winter's features became visible, meaning she was close enough to speak. To her surprise, Winter was not even looking forward; she was walking at a brisk pace, mouthing something while her eyes roamed distractedly over the ground.

"Excuse me," Weiss said coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh what –" Winter stopped abruptly, almost tripping over a loose stone as she brought her eyes to her sister's face. "Oh. It's you."

"Yes." Weiss stopped and crossed her arms. "Now answer my question."

"What question?"

She peered at Winter suspiciously. If it were anyone else, she would think that Winter was being cheeky, but this was uncharacteristic of her oh-so-prissy sister. It seemed that Winter really had not heard the question. "I asked what you are doing here."

"I'm… going for a walk." Winter adopted a pose that mirrored Weiss's and tilted her chin up defiantly. "Is that a crime?"

"It is when you have not taken a walk outside since I last saw you several months ago."

"Well, if you'd paid any attention to me then you would've noticed that I've been taking walks almost every day! But of course, how I could I expect you to pay any attention to me? All you ever did was yell at me to get out of your way!"

Weiss took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and unclenched them. "I recall that you were always the one who instigated our arguments. You are a nasty, attention-seeking liar and I still have not forgotten how I was always punished for _you_ raising your voice."

It was Winter's turn to take the deep breath. "Whatever," she muttered. "I – I'm – I'm sorry for that, alright? Now, if you'll excuse me." She tried to step past Weiss, but the latter blocked her way.

"Wait." She peered closely at Winter, trying to search for a hint of deception. "Do you really mean your apology?"

"I don't apologise to just anyone!"

That was something she'd learnt from Weiss herself. But her words lacked their usual venom. Ever since arriving at Beacon, Winter had seemed oddly withdrawn, usually going on the defensive instead of attacking Weiss like she had at home. Weiss felt a strange surge of concern.

"Is anything wrong?" she ventured.

Winter brushed her hair out of her face. "Wrong? Nothing. Just a team who hates me."

"There is no need for dramatics."

"Fine. Then I'll be on my way." She attempted to push past again.

"Wait!" Weiss grabbed Winter's shoulders. "Er – how are you settling in at Beacon? I never got to ask. And anyway, why did you agree to come here? Do you really want to be a Huntress? I didn't think you liked fighting."

Winter shook her off and stepped back a little, her eyes widening with surprise. "Are you okay?"

"Yes! I'm fine!" Weiss snapped. "Am I not allowed to ask questions anymore?"

"Um… I guess you are?" Winter looked away. "I'm okay… I didn't agree to come here, I was _sent_. And no, I don't want to be a Huntress, but I guess I have to."

Weiss bit back a sneering comment on how if she _really_ did not want to come, she could have just complained to her precious daddy. "Are you afraid of Grimm?" she asked instead.

"I… no! No. I just… you're right, I don't like fighting. But… can I go, please? I kind of have to be somewhere…"

Weiss watched suspiciously as Winter shifted nervously, combing her fingers through her hair. "It is alright to be scared, you know."

"I'm not scared!" Winter snapped. "Now, if you'll really excuse me –" This time, she pushed past so forcefully that Weiss could not have stopped her. But she did not try. Her patience with her sister was exhausted again, and she watched Winter stalk away for a moment before heading back to the castle with a sigh. She had wasted her morning walk on a pointless conversation with Winter; now it was time to devote another day to making the Schnee family proud.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Sun didn't know why he still attended these meetings. It was different when there wasn't a brave, cool-headed, beautiful, intelligent cat faunus beside him. Blake's absence took the spice out of his life, and everything tasted bland without her.

For a few weeks, all he'd wanted to do was lie in bed and think about what he couldn't do now that Blake was gone. He couldn't laugh with her. He couldn't smile at her smiles or ruffle her hair playfully or watch her raise an eyebrow when something surprised her.

For a little while, he thought he couldn't live without her. But a letter from his mother had set that right.

He remembered that he still had a mission, one that he and Blake had shared: to take down the White Fang. His mother's insane rant had reminded him just in time what he was fighting for. He wasn't just fighting for himself or for Blake. He was determined to bring down the White Fang and rescue his mother from their dark clutches, so she could become normal again, untainted by fanatic ideologies suited only for revolutionary monsters covered in the blood of innocent children.

Okay, maybe that was an over-exaggeration. But ever since he'd heard the nightmarish stories of the War, he was determined to do what he could to stop a revolution from happening again. This was neither the time nor the place for a group of crazy weapon-wielding idealists to attempt to seize power. There were other enemies to fight in the world.

And now, he found himself strolling down the street with a Grimm mask dangling from his wrist, his shirt buttoned for once to keep the brisk wind out. Paper bags and stray cheques floated past him, and once he had to avoid a little girl who was chasing her tennis ball. He was tempted to tell her to stay away from this place – who knew what the soldiers would think when they saw an unsupervised child? But the girl wouldn't know those men standing outside the warehouse were soldiers, and anyway she'd be more scared of him than of his vague warning. So he kept his silence, but nevertheless he was relieved when she disappeared around the corner.

"Evening, gentlemen," Sun greeted the soldiers-in-disguise as he placed the mask on his face. They nodded him in, clanking the heels of their steel-lined boots together in a small salute.

He waved his tail casually as she stepped inside, trying to appear calm, although his shoulders were tense and he kept expecting someone to recognize him as an enemy and attack him. Months of attending these meetings almost unmolested did nothing to condition him.

The new recruits were scattered around the room, and a few White Fang soldiers stood guard on the stage. Torchwick and Neo, or whoever was presenting today, hadn't appeared yet.

Sun strolled over to the nearest group of three or so recruits, smiling nicely at a rabbit faunus, who blushed and hid her face behind curtains of brown hair, though it was already masked anyway. The circle parted effortlessly to let him in, and a wolf faunus gave him a friendly nod.

"We have to do more than raid random villages!" a bear faunus was saying, waving his hands around for emphasis (everyone stepped back automatically to avoid being speared in the eye by one of his giant claws). "My parents _laugh_ when they hear about another attack! I have to show my father that we're not a laughingstock." He gave a guttural growl. "Then we'll see who's the man of the house."

"My family already knows I'm alpha male," the wolf faunus said dismissively. "My dad left when most of our village joined the Fang, and my mother and sisters look to me for protection. I had to drive my brother out too – he was a spy, apparently. It was a shame – he had a lot of potential."

Sun felt it was time to speak out, though revulsion rose up in his throat like bile. "My mother doesn't believe in the cause," he said, trying to sound smooth and indifferent. "I hope that when our first major victories come, she'll finally see I'm right. Whatever's making them wait this long, I hope it gets cleared up soon."

"Guys, who exactly is in charge of this whole group?" the rabbit faunus asked, brushing her hair out of her face and peering at all of them (except Sun) with keen, intelligent eyes. "I keep hearing about these disorganized raids, and it sounds like the Fang is really gaining ground in rural areas. But what about more urbanized faunus? Who are the leaders and what are their plans for reaching the cities?"

The bear faunus looked stumped. "Uh…"

"No one knows who the ringleaders are," the wolf broke in smoothly. "We all know the human, _Torchwick –" _he spat the name with disgust –"has a bit of power, but most of us think he's just a bishop. There are stronger rooks out there, and somewhere a king and queen as well – possibly much closer than we think." He flattened his ears and glared at Sun and the bear suspiciously, as if they were the Fang royalty. "They could be hiding anywhere."

"Interesting." The rabbit glanced at Sun and flushed again, her face distinctly pink against the white half-mask. "Well, thanks for the information. I'll keep it in mind." By the end of the sentence, her voice dwindled into a soft murmur. "I think the meeting's starting…"

Sun smirked to himself a little, but it quickly faded when he remembered the girl he'd had a crush on forever, and imagined how she'd feel if she saw another girl go all cross-eyed over him. She wouldn't act jealous, sure, but she'd avoid his eyes and turn her head away when he spoke to her. It was her classic act of disinterest.

He suddenly didn't want to be near the rabbit girl anymore. He sidled away until he stood between a bulky, horned ox faunus and some kind of insect faunus who displayed a pair of thin black antennae.

While he had been speaking with the recruits, several men had ascended to the stage. One looked like an assassin, with a fitted black bodysuit and a pair of long, curved swords strapped to his back crosswise. The other two appeared to be ordinary soldiers, though instead of the usual pistols, they held thin white staffs with a shimmering blue blade at each end. All of them wore blank white half-masks.

"Ahem." The assassin tapped on the microphone in front of him a few times, and the crowd instantly quieted. Surreptitiously, Sun glanced backwards to watch the soldiers as they gently shut the warehouse door closed and took their positions on either side. He turned back slowly, unable to quite banish the unease that came with being locked in a room of enemies. He'd gotten out undetected and unscathed the last dozen times, but that didn't mean the trend would continue.

He hunched his shoulders a little and adjusted his mask as the assassin began speaking.

"Good evening, my fellow fauni! I am very excited to be speaking to you today." He had a smooth tenor, and while it wasn't exactly quivering with joy, he did sound energetic and vivacious. "I have recently been promoted from an initiate to a combat leader, and I hope many of you will follow in my footsteps. It is an exciting prospect to serve the White Fang by leading new members into battle, and I intend to use this opportunity to further the cause through all of you – my new students." He smiled coolly at the crowd. "Yes, you heard me correctly! I will be your superior, your guiding hand as you become acquainted with the intricacies of White Fang membership. Soon, I will be taking you all on raids and directing you on clandestine missions that will further our goal to better society."

All the usual blather of poorly made demagogues trying to pander to the crowd. Despite his formidable appearance, the man's voice wasn't very suited to public speaking. Delivering death threats? Maybe. But Sun could see the crowd becoming restless, some of them muttering among themselves.

The insect faunus leaned over and whispered into his ear, her warm breath tickling his earlobe. "We've all heard this rubbish a bunch of times. We want to do something already!"

"I know, right," Sun said quickly, only stopping himself from rubbing his earlobe with difficulty. It was a lame response, but she'd startled him. Nevertheless, it seemed to be the right thing to say, because the girl smiled with satisfaction and turned to whisper into another recruit's ear.

"Ahem." The assassin tapped his finger on the microphone to regain everyone's attention. "I sense your wandering interest. Do you want to see a battle?"

"Yes!" the audience yelled, and for a horrible moment Sun realised he was cheering along with them instinctively. He quickly snapped his jaw shut, feeling sick. Was the evil of the White Fang finally rubbing off on him? He thought of what Blake would say, and closed his eyes to the image of her disapproving amber gaze, but it seemed to be burnt into his eyelids.

"Excellent!" the assassin exclaimed gleefully. "Then now is the time to act! The night is our friend, and we will use its cover to attack –"

Whatever he was saying was lost in a sharp crack, as suddenly all the lights went out.

Sun's eyes immediately flew open, and he was moving before he even realised what was happening. In a split-second he judged from memory the distance from him to the ceiling and jumped, straining his fingers upward to reach the rafters. His knuckles collided with a painful bang, but he was able to swing himself up and crouch on a rafter, twining his tail around it and waiting to see what would happen next. He kept Ruyi Band and Jingu Bang in their staff form under his shirt, hesitating to take them out while his position was still unknown. Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that his weapon and semblance both relied on explosions so much – that was the last thing he needed here.

It took only a second for people to start screaming. The only remaining light source was the eerie blue blades of the soldiers on the stage, which were glowing faintly, though they seemed to deepen the darkness rather than dispel it. The blades danced through the air like glowworms as the soldiers shifted position, though they didn't attack yet.

"Silence!" the assassin yelled into the microphone, but no one was listening. Sun wanted to clap his hands over the ears as more people joined in the pointless screaming, but remembered just in time that he was holding on to a rafter. Didn't they realise how stupid they were being?

Within a few moments, someone had lit a better light source, and a small gas lamp was ignited next to one of the walls, shining on the terrified face of a green-skinned frog faunus. The screams only increased in volume, but the lamp went out in a few seconds anyway when something invisible hit it, shattering the glass. Sun winced, imagining what had happened to the hands and face of the faunus who had been holding it. He carefully took his arms off the rafters, testing his balance, then swiftly took out his Bangs and spread them into shotgun form, holding one half in each hand with the gold chain between them.

"Come on, come on," he muttered. "Where are you? Give me a target!"

"Someone get the lights back on!" the assassin was yelling. "Isn't there emergency lighting here somewhere?!"

If Sun hadn't been looking at the blue blades, he would've missed it. A shadow darted across his line of sight for a split second, and instantly the blades swung into action, cleaving through the darkness smoothly. But they met no resistance, and they returned to their upright positions again more slowly, as if the soldiers were hesitating.

_Blake_, Sun thought wildly, remembering the rumours he'd heard at Beacon. Yang believed the shadow that had attacked the White Fang was Blake, resurrected from the dead. He yearned to believe it, but like Ruby and allegedly Weiss, he had private doubts. Somehow, he thought that if Blake hadn't died, his heart would've sensed it, and it wouldn't feel like someone had torn it out and swallowed it.

The screaming was dying down, and the assassin had stopped yelling pointlessly into the microphone. There were moans and whimpers in the crowd, but lights were beginning to flicker on from people who happened to have fire Dust (or a similar substance) to light. Pale and swarthy faces were illuminated; some held their weapons aloft, trying to see what was happening in the entire room, while others kept their lights close and huddled over them like campers over a solitary fire. Sun kept watching, convinced that the shadow would appear again.

_It can't be Blake. She would've seen me and told me she was alive. She trusted me._

Well, he had an easy way to check if it was an impostor – Blake, like anyone else, had a distinctive fighting style and a unique weapon. But if the shadow never appeared for more than a second…

And – there! Something narrow cut through one of the blue blades, but the weapon didn't seem to be affected. The soldier swung outwards, the tip just missing the edge of the shadow.

Sun watched it for a few moments, memorizing its trajectory. It was moving across the room very quickly, probably by grappling hooks. He hesitated for another second, and pounced –

– just as he realised that the shadow was leaving a trail of something that sparkled dimly. It was violet Dust, and it quickly used up its energy as it was released into the air, becoming a dark grey blur and hiding most of the little lights on the ground. Sun lost sight of the shadow and tumbled blindly to the ground, his tail swinging wildly for balance. He landed on the floor and instantly rolled to break his fall, but his knees still hurt when he sprung to his feet and looked around.

With the blur, it became very difficult to distinguish anything. Sun heard muffled shouts from behind him and looked at the stage, where the soldiers were swinging their blue blades in complex patterns, fending off an unseen attacker. A pair of shimmering silver blurs joined them, probably belonging to the assassin. There were a few explosions and shouts, prompting answering shouts from the recruits, but no one could do much except stumble around blindly in the dark.

Sun growled with frustration and turned to where he thought the door might be, deciding he'd had enough of this. He didn't know whether the shadow was his ally or enemy, which meant he could neither attack, nor turn on the White Fang and reveal his position as a spy. He began shoving his way through people, causing shouts of anger and panic, and within twenty seconds he had reached a wall.

He turned left, feeling with his right hand for the handles of the door that led outside. Instead, after a few moments he knocked against a hard metal form. He guessed it was one of the soldiers that guarded the door, judging by its hostile shout, but he shoved past it before it could do anything and rammed against where he thought the door was. There was a dull thud, but the sturdy thing didn't break.

Behind him, he heard rapid footsteps approaching, and suddenly there were two more thuds against the door. It rattled and groaned, its lock straining to hold it in place. The guards reached for Sun with groping fingers and tried to drag him away, but he smacked them aside with his Bangs and threw himself against the door again.

It flew open, spilling Sun and a few others onto the concrete sidewalk outside. He was almost blinded by the streetlight outside; night had fallen, and the street was illuminated by stars and lampposts.

There were more footsteps and yells behind him, and he rapidly scrambled to his feet and stepped aside, allowing the stampede to begin. Once the fauni recognized that there was an escape, their animal instincts took over and they ran for the exit. Several passerby stopped and stared, dumbstruck, as the escaped fauni scattered down the street like a demented masquerade party (all of them were still wearing their Grimm masks).

Sun peered inside the warehouse, which was still shrouded in the eerie grey haze. There were several loud explosions and a bloom of red fire from the stage (or where the stage used to be), and suddenly the blue and silver smudges of light were running towards the exit as well, and he stepped back hurriedly as the soldiers and the assassin burst out of the warehouse. Sun half-expected the shadow to follow him, but all was eerily silent inside the building.

Most of the fauni had scattered, and the blue blade soldiers and the assassin ran from the warehouse without looking back. Cowards.

Every muscle in Sun's body was tense. As far as he knew, the shadow was still inside. How was it planning on getting out while maintaining its cover? The street was too light to provide it with the darkness that masked its true appearance.

There had to be a back exit. Sun started running around the corner of the warehouse and down the alley to reach the back, but he didn't need to. Right before he rounded the corner, there was a colossal explosion from the roof. A white flare shot mushroomed into the sky, and pieces of ruined roof shot away from the explosion, flying over the surrounding buildings.

Sun instantly reversed direction and scaled one of the nearby lampposts, stowing the Bangs back into his shirt. He balanced on the lamp, tensed, judged the distance – and jumped onto the warehouse roof. The entire manoeuvre had taken less than five seconds, but he was still too late.

A shadowy form was leaping across the building roofs, rapidly fading into the night. Even with his night vision, Sun could only make out a dark patch, as if the shadow was wearing violet Dust as a shield. It would explain how it could maintain its anonymity, and why it had to turn the lights off before attacking the White Fang meeting. Violet Dust didn't work as well in bright light.

He had to hand it to the impostor – he was imitating Blake's shadow semblance well, when she was using violet Dust to make her afterimage into a hazy blur. But the real Blake wouldn't have ran from Sun before telling him that she was alright.

He had to believe she wasn't that cruel, so he did. He never had a problem with believing, even when it brought him suffering.

He jumped back down to the ground and began running away from the scene in the opposite direction.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I noticed that as of now, the world of Remnant doesn't have a calendar. I decided that the human calendar starts on 1 E.C. (Era Cinere - "era of ash" in Latin) because that was the year humans documented the discovery of Dust, and they thought it was ashes from a sacred fire. I imagine their history after that went somewhat along the lines of our history from 1000 A.D. to 1700ish (except for the presence of fauni and Grimm, which occupied them while we had our Age of Exploration), until their world diverged for good with the invention of Dust refining, making many more types of Dust accessible. Now, Dust is present in nearly all technology, much like electricity is with us. The War took place in 976-999 E.C. It is currently the year 1088.**

**Chapter 12**

"We're getting new assignments! We're getting new assignments!" Ruby squealed when she saw the notice board in the library.

"Keep your voice down," Weiss said irritably from her place beside Neptune. They were reading identical copies of _A Treatise on the Political Movements in Mistral in the 11__th__ Century (Post-War Rejuvenation to 1065 E.C.)_ in adjacent chairs_._ Yang's thoughtfully offered copy of _Marino and Iolanthe_ lay ignored on the table between them.

"But this is so exciting! Hopefully it'll be just as awesome as our assignment with Oobleck!"

"Yeah, well, go be excited somewhere else. We're trying to read here. In relative peace and quiet." Weiss shot her a glare, but after receiving a month's worth of the same look from Winter, Ruby was immune. She smiled at Weiss brilliantly, imagining her eyes were twinkling like golden Dust.

"Oh, come on, Weiss," Neptune said, his lips turning up with amusement. "Let her have some fun. It's not every day you get an assignment, right?"

"Hmph!" Weiss rustled her book angrily and buried her nose into its pages again, but as always, she chose not to argue with Neptune.

"Eeeeeee! You're so nice! I can see why Weiss likes you!" Ruby exclaimed. She ignored Neptune's choking and Weiss's look of horror, and twirled around for a few moments until she crashed into the notice board and tumbled to the floor with it. "Oops!" With her semblance, she quickly stood up and put it back into place again. "Good as new!"

"Hey, guys." Yang strolled over from behind a bookshelf labeled 'Romance: K-N'. "Why is the notice board upside down? Neptune, do you need a cough drop?"

Ruby hastily flipped the board right side up again. "We're getting new assignments!" she informed her sister. "We have to report to the airship landing platforms at four o'clock tomorrow. In the evening, I mean. Oh, isn't this so exciting?!"

"I'm – fine," Neptune said, rising from his seat and adjusting his goggles. "Um… I'm going upstairs – I have class soon."

"I'm going too. I have class – too," Weiss said quickly, standing up too and nearly knocking her chair backwards.

"Guys, I don't think we have class at nine p.m.," Yang pointed out bemusedly, but Weiss and Neptune had already hurried out of the library, not looking at each other. "Hey, where are you going – you left your books! – oh well," she muttered. "What's gotten into them, I wonder? They looked awkward."

Ruby giggled. "I said that Neptune was nice and no wonder Weiss liked him! I bet they're going to go out now. Isn't it so sweet?"

"WHAT?" Yang shouted, earning several glares and "shh"s from the nearby library patrons. "_Did you seriously say that to them?_ Are you a complete _idiot?_" Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Ruby's arm and began dragging her out of the library.

"I was doing them a favour!" Ruby protested, pouting at Yang. "But we're getting assign-"

"Are you completely blind? Weiss is in _denial!_" Yang interrupted, pulling on her own hair in frustration. "You can't just go blabbing things like that! Now they'll just be awkward for a couple days and then forget about the whole thing! Your whole intervention was pointless except for putting off their Moment of Truth even more! This is her first crush, you know?! It has to be handled delicately! _Delicately_. Can you comprehend that?"

"Of course I can," Ruby said indignantly, doing a couple more twirls. "I just thought they needed a little push. Anyways, did you hear? We're –"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard the first two hundred times." Yang rolled her eyes and grabbed Ruby by the arm. "Come on, duck, we're going back to our dorms and you can apologise to Weiss, who's probably sulking on Blake's bed again."

"Duck?" Ruby repeated, allowing herself to be pulled down the corridor without much resistance.

"Oh, that's just something Z- never mind."

Ruby couldn't see Yang's face, but she thought she caught a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "Yes?"

"I said never mind!" Yang gave her a rough shove and let go of her arm. Ruby tripped, of course, Yang grabbed her arm again just in time, and they somehow ended up on the floor laughing. Yang's eyes were a clear purple, the least stormiest they'd been in weeks.

-x-

"Hey guys!" Nora trilled as soon as RWWY joined JNPR at the landing platforms. First year teams were slowly trickling in as the sunlight trickled out and hid behind the trees of the Emerald Forest.

"Hi," Ruby and Yang said together. Weiss gave a little wave and a smile, while Winter stared at the Forest, completely distracted.

"Hey." Yang poked Winter. "Are you all here?"

Winter blinked and turned her gaze to the rest of her team, looking strangely absent. "Um. Yes, yes I am. Thank you for asking."

"Are you sure?" Weiss muttered, casting a sideways glance lacking its usual hostility at Winter. "You look pale."

"I said, I'm here! I'm fine!" Winter snapped, her face sharpening with awareness again.

Weiss turned away without responding, which was unusual. Ruby smiled to herself, wondering if the sisters were starting to get along a little more.

Jaune and Pyrrha were talking in an undertone between themselves, and Ruby squirmed, remembering the mean things she'd said to Pyrrha. She hadn't had a chance to apologise yet; for the last three days, Pyrrha had been steadily avoiding being within fifty feet of Ruby.

Ruby took a step towards the group, but stopped abruptly when she saw Jaune sweep in for a quick kiss to Pyrrha's cheek. She blushed and smiled, and Jaune scratched his head, looking abashed but pleased.

"Um, did Jaune just kiss Pyrrha?" Yang asked no one in particular.

Nora whipped around, forcing Ren to twist as well because she was holding his arm in a death grip. "What?! You did? Jaune! I never thought – eeeeee you two are so sweet! It's team romance!" she squealed, doing a little dance.

"Calm down, Nora," Pyrrha said with a smile. "We're not together."

"Er – not yet," Jaune quickly inserted, then blushed and stared at his fingers.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha turned to him with a look of mock astonishment. "Do you mean to propose marriage already?"

"What?" He instantly took a step back, looking panicked. "N-no! I mean – what? M-marriage?"

"She's making fun of you," Ren noted with a trace of a grin.

Nora squealed again and went to hug Pyrrha, letting go of Ren. Despite Pyrrha's coldness, Ruby was happy that she'd finally confessed something to Jaune and gotten him to see something beyond his long nose. Seeing the cuteness of a new almost-couple, she couldn't stop herself from pressing her fists to her face and letting out a quiet squeak.

Winter wandered over to her side. "This is revolting," she muttered, her eyes fixated on Jaune's hand as he cautiously twined his fingers with Pyrrha's.

"It's adorable!" Ruby protested (but quietly, to not disturb the scene). "Doesn't it make your heart melt when you see people getting together? It's the sweetest thing in the world! After puppies, I mean."

"Puppies? I love puppies!" Weiss sidled over immediately, deliberately standing with her back to Jaune and Pyrrha. "People getting together is disgusting, though. I wish they would just make out and get over it."

"You don't even like animals," Winter retorted. "And you're just a sore loser. There's no need to be so upset that Jaune doesn't think you're the queen of the world anymore."

"Excuse me?" Weiss enquired icily, folding her arms. "I am not upset –"

Ruby was saved from interfering when a group of people led by Glynda walked over to the two teams. Glynda cleared her throat loudly, and Jaune dropped Pyrrha's hand as if it were the head of a Taijitsu. Weiss scowled at Winter, but turned to look at Glynda without finishing her sentence.

"Ahem. I'm sorry to break up a cozy gathering, but we're about to leave on our assignments," she said, giving RWWY and JNPR a sweeping glance.

Ruby perked up instantly. "Hey, that's ROZE! Are they coming with us?" It would be amazing to be paired with an elite team on an assignment! This was the same team that Ozpin had entrusted with the delicate mission of looking at the scene of Blake's… disappearance.

"Actually, no," Glynda replied. "JNPR will be joining ROZE today. You four will be with me. And don't give me that crestfallen expression."

"But Professor," Weiss said as politely as possible, staring at ROZE, who gazed back at her in turn, their expressions impassive. "We already went with a professor on an assignment. Would it not be more fair if we went with a student team? We would obtain more experience," she reasoned.

"I'm afraid Ozpin has decided that I will be your leader for this assignment, and his decision is not open to negotiation." Glynda looked faintly regretful, as if she disliked disappointing her favourite student. "However, you may meet ROZE. Their names are Radiance –" the dark-haired woman inclined her head –"Onyx and Evangelica –" the twin olive-skinned women waved, their teeth gleaming almost as white as their hair –"and Zakat." The teenager nodded brusquely, eyeing the first year teams as if they were about to attack him. His gaze flickered across Weiss and Winter and finally rested on Nora.

"Hello," he said to her, flipping his bangs off his forehead elegantly.

"This is Nora," Ren stepped in, extending his hand to Zakat. "I'm Ren."

"Nice to meet you," Zakat replied, shaking Ren's hand as if it were a dead animal. He gazed past him at Nora again. "And you as well, Nora." She gave a small smile, but said nothing.

Ruby frowned at this odd exchange. It seemed strange that Zakat was taking an immediate interest in Nora, and that Ren was defending her. Didn't ROZE want to meet Jaune and Pyrrha as well?

"Well girls, let's get on our airship," Glynda said, striding over to them. "I expect you have enough luggage for a few days' trip?"

Weiss and Winter shrugged; they both had a small grey suitcase. Yang hefted her shoulder bag, and Ruby reached to her back reflexively, trying to shrug off her backpack – but it wasn't there.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I think I forgot my bag in my dorm! Can I go get it? Please please please, Professor Goodwitch?"

"I'm afraid not. You'll just have to borrow from your teammates, or the students at Haven."

"Haven?" Weiss echoed. "As in, Haven Academy? In Mistral?"

"Yes, that's where we're going," Glynda confirmed.

"_Yes!_" Yang pumped her fist. "I heard they have the wildest parties!"

Glynda gave her a disapproving look, but didn't reprimand her. "Very well. Follow me, girls."

RWWY trailed after her, murmuring final goodbyes to JNPR. Ruby caught Pyrrha's eye and tried to smile, but got only a raised eyebrow in return. It seemed that despite her success with Jaune, she still hadn't forgiven Ruby.

-x-

After they landed in Vale, Glynda took them to a medium-sized passenger ship at the docks. She showed the ticket conductor some documents, and he allowed her to pass without another word. She took RWWY to a cabin to unload their bags while the ship left the port, and now they were standing at the back of the deck, watching the stream of foamy water and waves left by the propeller. The only noise was the humming of the propeller and the flapping of Glynda's cloak in the wind.

"Professor," Ruby ventured, "why are we going to Mistral? What exactly is our assignment?"

Glynda took a few moments to respond. "We're going to investigate three of your classmates, under cover of a Hunting assignment," she said finally.

"What? So it's not an actual assignment? That's so unfair!" Yang complained. "I thought we'd actually get to fight bastard Grimm!"

"Language," Glynda reminded her sternly. "And it will be an educational experience. Ozpin has requested that all of you be allowed to join in several lessons at Haven, to learn Mistral Hunting techniques. They are a seafaring nation, and the only ones to have Grimm that live in the ocean. Vale, Vacuo, and Atlas only have freshwater Grimm. Perhaps you will even get the chance to fight a Leviathan."

Ruby sighed wistfully. "Ahh, that would be _so_ _super-duper cool_… would you want to see Leviathan, Winter? – Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Winter muttered. She was gripping the rails so tightly that her knuckles had turned whitish blue, and her face had gone deathly pale. "Just… a little seasick. Don't mind me."

"It's time to eat dinner anyway," Glynda said. "You may go back to your cabin, Winter, if you don't feel well. Ruby, will you accompany her? Thank you. Weiss, Yang – follow me."

"Feel better!" Yang tossed over her shoulder as she left.

Ruby peered at Winter. "Do you need help walking?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine. You can go on to dinner, honestly. I can get back on my own."

"I don't think so," Ruby said firmly. "It's my responsibility to make sure you make it back safely. Come on." She grabbed Winter's arm tentatively, then – when it wasn't slapped away – she tugged on it, forcing her to let go of the rail. Winter didn't resist, although her footsteps became surer the farther away they got from the water, and by the time they'd reached the cabin she looked as healthy as ever.

She gently pulled her arm out of Ruby's grip. "I feel better now," she declared. "Let's go to dinner."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to eat right now," Ruby said uncertainly. "If you're feeling sick…"

"Ugh!" Winter opened the cabin door and flopped onto her bed. The space was cramped, with barely enough room for four beds, let alone people to populate them. Glynda had taken a different cabin all to herself – teacher privileges, it seemed. "Whatever. Fine. You can go to dinner. Just bring me back something to eat – I'm _starving_." She sighed wistfully and stared out of the tiny window next to her bed. "Go on. Eat. I'll just suffer here."

"Um… okay!" Ruby wasn't sure if this was Winter acting unusually dramatic, or if she was trying to be funny. It was weird either way. Just in case, she closed the door as quietly as she would if she were in a mental hospital, before skipping down the hallway to join her team and Glynda in the dining hall. Only after she'd arrived on the deck did she realise that she had absolutely no idea where to go.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was raining when they reached Mistral two days later. Yang's hair was plastered to her face, and she glared at everything as if it were purposely ruining her carefully styled locks. Weiss was safely sheltered under a large white umbrella, and Ruby pulled up the hood of her cloak, praising herself for remembering to add a fur lining to the inside in anticipation of the coming December.

Only Winter and Glynda appeared unaffected. Glynda wore a wool hat to cover her head, but her cloak remained dry; Ruby thought she caught the shimmer of glass Dust around the lens of her glasses, which repelled water from them. Presumably, her cloak was embedded with glass Dust as well.

Winter had no protection whatsoever, but she gave no indication that she noticed the cold or the freezing rain. Her dark grey dress was stained black by the water, and droplets ran freely down her face and arms, but she walked on as if oblivious, occasionally glancing around the crowd with curiosity. She could've been an ordinary tourist on a shopping trip.

"Dust, Winter," Yang muttered. "Will you stop gaping? We're not on holiday."

"Shut up," Winter said distractedly.

"Girls," Glynda warned them.

"Winter's being annoying, Professor."

"You're just upset that a little rain ruined your precious hair."

"Girls!"

"At least I'm not as shallow as a puddle!"

"One more word out of you and I'll send both of you home!" Glynda snapped, glaring at all of them. "I've had enough of your bickering to last me a lifetime. Now, kindly shut your traps."

Ruby pressed her lips together to stop herself from smiling at the outraged look on Winter's face: this was probably the first time she'd ever been silenced by a teacher so sharply.

They had their documents verified at a passport office, and emerged onto a busy street with yellow taxis and black company cars intermingling like the stripes on a bumblebee. A woman under a huge, painfully yellow umbrella stepped towards them, smiling in a friendly (if slightly forced) way.

"Hello!" she said cheerily. "Are you the foreigners from Beacon?"

"Yes. I am Glynda Goodwitch, and this is the team I'm supervising," Glynda said, stepping forward to shake hands with the woman.

"Excellent, excellent!" The woman had to lift the umbrella up to allow Glynda to step under it and reach her hand. "I am Sparrow Sylvester, and all of you can call me Sparrow. I will be your escort to Haven. Welcome to the country of wind and water, and I hope you enjoy your stay here!"

Yang gave her an incredulous glance that said, _are you for real?_ Weiss rolled her eyes at Sparrow's overly cheering attitude, but Ruby decided she liked the woman. It was always nice to see such a friendly face in dreary weather (or any weather, really). "Thank you," she said politely. "My name's Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose. And this is my weapon, Crescent Rose!" She took out her scythe and showed it to Sparrow, careful not to unfold it in case she accidentally impaled her.

Sparrow's smile didn't change, but her eyes darkened slightly. "Oh, that's nice," she said. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about weapons. Could you tell me what that is?"

"It's a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe," she explained happily, glad that someone was finally listening. "I can use its recoil to power my sembla-"

"That's enough," Glynda cut across her, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sparrow, she's a little talkative. These other girls are Yang, Winter, and Weiss." She nodded at each of them in turn. "Now, could we get to our airship, please? I think Winter's about to get a cold."

"Sure," Sparrow replied, perking up a little and hoisting her umbrella higher. "Right this way, girls!"

"I don't get colds," Winter muttered to Ruby as they followed the yellow umbrella down the street. "Glynda just said that so you'd shut up. You do realise that, right?"

"Why would I need to shut up? I wasn't saying anything bad," Ruby objected, ignoring the jab at her intelligence.

"There's no need to go blabbing about your semblance to any person off the street. Besides, didn't you see her eyes? She looked angry at you."

"I thought it was just the rain," Ruby said uncertainly. "Or the lighting…"

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't talk about your scythe to any random people, okay? They're weird here in Mistral. They take offense at trifles."

"Isn't a trifle something you eat?"

"Why do I even talk to you?" Winter sighed.

"Because you love me?" Ruby offered.

Winter scoffed and flipped her hair out of her face, spraying Ruby with water droplets.

"Hey!"

"Winter, stop harassing Ruby," Glynda said tiredly without turning around. "Ruby, stop bothering her. You're acting like children."

"Are they siblings?" Sparrow asked Glynda. "I thought Winter and – Weiss, was it? – looked more similar."

"Weiss and Winter are sisters, and Yang and Ruby are half-sisters," Glynda explained. Ruby frowned; Glynda didn't have the right to parade her personal information around the street to anyone who asked. After all, Sparrow was still more or else a stranger.

"Oh, that's very interesting!" Sparrow exclaimed, laughing lightly. "That rarely happens in Mistral. We tke special care to separate family. Feuds have been all too common in the past between siblings competing for inheritance, and siblings quarrel too much anyway."

There were a few moments of silence. "My colleague Ozpin and I disagree with that view," Glynda said at last. "We believe in family unity. But I won't dispute the views of the country I'm in."

"Wonderful!" Sparrow agreed happily. "So, have you made any sightseeing plans? Many Haven students travel to the city over the weekend…"

Ruby tuned out the tourism discussion and looked around instead. They were walking down a street full of boutiques and tea shops, with lovely displays of flowers and dresses in the windows. Weiss and Yang were eyeing each shop carefully, their irritation with the rain temporarily forgotten. Ruby found no interest in clothes-shopping, so she observed the people instead.

Most of the passerby wore hoods or carried umbrellas, so their faces were hidden. Their clothes were pale shades of predominantly grey, green, and blue; few people wore anything as bright as Sparrow's umbrella. The few women with uncovered heads had long hair ranging from blonde to chestnut and pale skin. There were no people with very dark hair or complexion. The men wore dark coats or sweaters, and their hair was usually cut short. Everyone walked quickly, as if they were in fast motion, and there weren't any people loitering or window-shopping like Yang and Weiss.

The people kept their weapons hidden, too, if they had any. Ruby saw only one man with a compound bow slung across his shoulder.

Soon, they turned onto an even larger street, where a huge airport took oup several dozen blocks on the left. On the right, there were large official-looking glass buildings. Airships lifted off of and landed on giant asphalt landing pads, and the gusts of air from their fans buffeted the sheets of rain, sending water in every direction, including the street. Ruby ducked and turned away as a spatter of raindrops flew at her.

"This is Rouen airport!" Sparrow announced. "Oour airhip is over on the other side, so we'll have to go through the landing pads and the central terminal. I suggest holding on tight to your hats and umbrellas!"

"This is miserable," Weiss spat, closing her umbrella and hanging it on her belt.

"Tell me about it," Yang agreed darkly. "I hate the weather here. Does it rain _all_ the time?"

Catching her comment, Sparrow replied, "Only about six months a year. Don't worry, though, you'll get used to it. And the rain makes the sunny days really beautiful."

"How long are we staying here?" Wiess asked.

"No more than a week," Glynda reassured her. "This will hardly be the most unpleasant weather you'll encounter. Please stop complaining like a pair of water-logged rats."

Winter had been staring into the distance, but she came back to the conversation to add, "You're all just weak."

"And you're not?" Weiss said incredulously. "You hate rain! I remember you tried to make your maid go and take your passport picture for you because you didn't feel like going outside in a drizzle!"

"That was several years ago," Winter said, shrugging uncomfortably and dropping her gaze.

Weiss scowled at her, but let the subject go. Her hair had already turned from its lovely white into a dull grey.

"Come on, girls, let's get moving!" Sparrow interrupted, waving them forward. She set a brisk pace, and soon they were practically running across the sidewalk, heading towards the gated entrance to the airport. The gates were wide open, and people streamed in and out, an ocean of trout swimming to escape the rain and get on with their busy lives.

They were swept away to the central terminal, the sheets of rain lashing their faces. Ruby pulled her cloak tighter around herself, shivering from the cold feeling of her soaked-through clothing.

When they reached the terminal, they entered the glass doors and emerged into a magnificent hall, with marble floors and columns and a crystal chandelier. Ticket offices were open all along the walls, and Ruby wanted to stop and look at the people who were buying tickets (one of them had a metal arm and another was wearing a bright pink balaclava), but Sparrow hurried them on. Even Glynda was starting to look harassed as they pushed to the other side of the hall, slipping in puddles and bumping into hurrying individuals with small black suitcases. Glynda's curls were beginning to turn into a tangled mess, and Yang's combat skirt was askew. Only Sparrow looked normal, pushing and shoving past people with a comfortable smile on her face as if she did this every day.

The bedraggled group finally exited the hall after a few long minutes, and Ruby noticed that the rain had noticeably lightened. The fat droplets had become little particles that gathered on her skin and made every hair stand out. A ray of orange sunlight emerged from the clouds, highlighting Weiss and Winter, and she noticed with awe how brilliantly their wet hair sparkled in the light. Every droplet was a tiny prism.

"What are you staring at?" Weiss demanded. "I know I look horrible."

"No, no you don't!" Ruby assured her. "You look amazing. The sun is really good at highlighting your hair and ahhhhh it looks like you have ice Dust in it! It's so pretty!"

Weiss examined a strand of her hair doubtfully. The ray of sun was covered by a raincloud just as she brought the strand to her face, so it looked dull grey again. "I don't see anything," she said suspiciously.

"Never mind," Ruby said hastily, realising that the moment was over. "Come on, we're falling behind!"

"Alright, alright!" Weiss released her hair and trotted to catch up with Sparrow, Glynda, Yang, and Winter. Ruby didn't know how she managed it in her high heels – she didn't bother trotting, she just ran.

A long row of small airships was spread out in front of them, and there were noticeably fewer people trickling to and from the central terminal. The majority of the trout was still inside. Sparrow led them to an airship with a white gate and a beam of light painted on its dark grey side. The word "Haven" was painted in large, elegant script along the top of the emblem.

"Does the book represent the knowledge of Dust?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Yes, and the ray of light is the divine intervention that brought it to us over a millennium ago," Sparrow replied, pointing a black remote at the ship. A door opened in its hull, and a metal ladder extended to the ground. "Hop in, guys! It's a half-hour flight to Haven. Make yourselves comfortable."

"Thank you," Glynda said. She entered last, and followed Sparrow into the captain's cabin. The girls spread out around the passenger cabin. Ruby sat on one of the couches that lined the wall, and Yang plopped down next to her, wringing her head with an aggrieved expression and dripping water all over the leather seats. Winter and Weiss walked to the glass windows facing the city, and stood awkwardly several feet from each other, not meeting gazes. At least they weren't refusing to come within a dozen feet of each other anymore, but they weren't exactly close, either.

In contrast, Yang had no qualms about flipping her hair and catching Ruby in the face with the wet mass.

"Hey, watch it!" Ruby said, scooting away. "Please don't act like a wet dog? I'm wet enough already."

"I don't act like a dog," Yang retorted. "It's not my fault you're attracting all the excess water. Now, come here, will you? I want to lie on your lap."

Ruby sighed, but reluctantly scooted over again, reflecting that her combat skirt wouldn't get any wetter if Yang dried her hair on it.

Yang actually ended up falling asleep before they reached Haven, and Ruby felt bad about waking her up, so she contented herself with seeing the school from the couch. As far as she could tell in the dying light, it was a castle much like Beacon; its spires were more elegant and it had a lot more towers and outshoots, but it had the same circular walkways and inner courtyards framed by pillars, and there were fountains in the middle of every open space. She imagined its inside would look similar, too, and found that she was disappointed. It would've been much more interesting if Haven had a totally different appearance. Perhaps Atlas and Vacuo, which had much more extreme environments, would have differently designed schools. She doubted Vacuo had fountains every few hundred feet.

Sparrow touched down gracefully on a landing pad, with hardly a thump. Ruby applauded her lightly as she exited the captain's cabin with Glynda, and she gave a tired smile.

"It's almost time for dinner," Sparrow told them. "Right this way – careful, mind your step on the ladder! The school eats in the mess hall, but since all of you will be residing in a suite, you have a private dining room. Would you prefer to eat there tonight?

Glynda glanced at the girls. "Well?" she said.

"Private room," Winter said at once, stepping off the ladder gracefully.

"I want to eat in the mess hall and meet the other students," Yang objected.

Weiss sniffed and jumped the last three rungs to the ground. "I would prefer a bit of rest and relaxation tonight."

Everyone turned to look at Ruby.

"Erm…" she scratched the back of her neck, avoiding all of their gazes. When she thought about meeting a whole crowd of foreigners, most of whom would be older, all the familiar fears of people came flooding in. She dimly remembered Diamond Pearl and Twilight Moon and their posse of girls who teased her for trying to do ballet, and memories of long hours spent in solitude sprang to mind. She loved nice people, but only in small doses. Too many people meant too many chances to be labeled as different. "Dining room," she said finally.

"Ugh! Ruby, stop being a socially awkward penguin!" Yang groaned. "People aren't scary, they're just people!"

"I want to eat in the private dining room," Ruby repeated firmly. "Except, can we please please _please_ hurry? I'm starving!"

"Of course," Sparrow said. She glanced at Glynda for confirmation, and the Huntress nodded. "The suites are right this way. Most of the buildings and turrets are connected by breezeways, but a few require some open-air walking. I hope you don't mind? It's not usually very cold here, even in December." She plowed on without waiting for a confirmation. "Tomorrow morning, I will take you all to meet Headmaster Delacroix. Our assistant Headmistress is Madame Romanova, but she is currently in Vacuo and won't be back for another two days. Then you can eat lunch in the mess hall, and the girls have their first class at 2pm in room 311 – anyone can show them the way. You and I, Glynda, can review paperwork in the meantime, about the matter…" She fell silent and turned around slightly to glance at RWWY, then busied herself with unlocking the door to a long, flat building with many dark windows. They entered into a dark hallway, with dim orange lamps hung every ten or so paces, each illuminating a separate door. Sparrow led them to one of the closer doors.

"They know why I'm really here," Glynda said. "It's fine. But I'd rather not speak of it outside your office. Oh, my, this is a large suite. You shouldn't have…"

"Two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room that doubles with a kitchen," Sparrow said proudly. "No one can say Mistralians can't be hospitable!"

"Wow," Ruby breathed, taking in the grandly furnished space. "This is amazing…"

"It's not much bigger than my suite back at the White Castle," Winter said, trying to feign disinterest, but she stared around the room as avidly as Ruby did.

Sparrow glanced at her with a look filled with clear dislike. "That sort of attitude won't earn you many friends in Mistral," she warned Winter. "We don't forget insults easily. I would be wary of what I said, if I were you."

"You can't shut my mouth!" Winter said defiantly.

"That's enough. Show some respect!" Glynda cut in. "Thank you so much for everything, Sparrow. I'll see you tomorrow morning, yes? Nine? Very well. Good night."

"Good night," Ruby added hastily before the door shut.

Yang was still gaping at the elegant columns, the black leather couches, the incredibly soft-looking fleece pillows, and the Ursa-skin rug. "I like this place," she said finally.

"That's wonderful," Glynda told her. "But remember we aren't here to sightsee. You all have to learn something from Haven, and I have some searching to do. It's very likely that Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury aren't who they claim to be."

"Okay," Ruby said complacently, yawning. She knew she ought to be more interested, but she couldn't muster the energy. "I'm tired. Can we go to bed?"

"No one's stopping you," Weiss pointed out.

"I call showers first!" Yang yelled, bolting for the nearest door. "Yes!" She locked herself into the bathroom before anyone could do more than blink.

Glynda rubbed her temples with her fingers. "I need a drink," she muttered.

Ruby turned away and pretended she hadn't heard that.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The Headmaster had an unintelligible accent, but other than that, he seemed like a nice person. He welcomed Glynda and RWWY to Haven and invited them to enjoy themselves, as if they were on holiday.

"He's a weird old man," Yang yawned, closing the door of Delacroix's office behind her. "Ozpin's funky, but at least I know what he's saying most of the time."

"One more comment like that about authority figures and I'll have you sent straight home," Glynda informed her.

"Is it time for lunch now?" Ruby asked with trepidation, fingering Crescent Rose. She itched to get it out and work out her nervousness with a good half-hour of training, but she knew it wasn't appropriate when she didn't even know the first thing about the school yet. Maybe they had a rule that said you could only train between midnight and 3am.

Glynda reached for the thin black briefcase slung over her shoulder and took out her tablet. "Yes, it's almost noon. I didn't realise we sat with Delacroix for that long."

Yang opened her mouth, but thought better and closed it again.

"What did you want to say?" Ruby whispered to her when Glynda was busy putting away her tablet again.

"Careful, that woman has owl hearing," Yang whispered back. "I'm not saying it until she's a mile away."

"I think two miles would be more appropriate," Glynda said dryly. "Follow me."

Weiss fell into step beside Ruby, and Yang ended up walking with Winter, who kept stumbling over her feet as if the floor was made of rocks, not smooth linoleum. "Are you asleep or something?" Yang asked her. "Delacroix wasn't _that_ boring, just impossible to understand…"

"I'm f-f-fiiiiine," Winter replied, opening her mouth in a huge yawn. "I just had a hard time falling asleep last night."

"Oh." Yang nodded knowingly. "Well, keep it up. You're a lot nicer when you're dead tired."

"Well –" an expletive followed –"you." Winter smiled nicely, as if she had made a comment on the weather.

"Winter!" Weiss gasped, grabbing Ruby to steady herself. "How dare you?!"

"If I hear that again, I'm throwing you into the ocean," Glynda said tonelessly without looking around.

Yang just shook her head. "I take back my comment. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're just playing the role of an evil bi– witch. Nobody just curses after someone calls them nice."

"Well, I do!" Winter stumbled again.

"She's acting drunk," Ruby muttered to Weiss. "Isn't that a problem? I mean, reputation and everything?"

"Huh." Weiss gave her an appraising look. "You're right. They must know the Schnee Dust Company here, too. Winter! Stop blundering around like a hungover donkey."

"I'm not hungover and I'm not a donkey," Winter said, giggling. "You're funny."

Weiss calmly took out Myrtenaster and touched its tip between Winter's shoulder blades. There was a small white spark.

"Ow!" Winter jumped practically a foot in the air and spun around to glare at Weiss. "Watch it, you moron!"

"Much better," Weiss said, putting away Myrtenaster with a self-satisfied expression. "See, Ruby? That's how it's done. When someone isn't behaving appropriately, a little shock brings them to order."

"Isn't it better to just talk things out?" Ruby said uncertainly. "I mean, I can't just shock you guys every time I disagree with you. And Crescent Rose doesn't even have lightning Dust in it."

"You're so adorable Ruby. I'm glad you're not a dictator team leader," Weiss said unexpectedly, giving Ruby a quick one-armed hug. "Even if you make stupid comments about me sometimes." Her face hardened again. "Which I still haven't forgiven you for."

"Huh? When did I make stupid comments?" Ruby thought for a moment. "Oh! Neptune! That wasn't stupid though, I was just being nice! Lighten up, Weissy!"

"Did you just call me –" Weiss cut off herself off abruptly when they turned a corner and emerged into a large glass pavilion, packed with people. Instead of Beacon's long rows of tables and benches, Haven had elegant black tables for 8-10 people, each filled with chattering students in grey and white uniforms.

Ruby gulped. "Um."

"Well, I'll leave you to your food," Glynda said, smiling wryly. "Good luck, and Winter especially, watch your tongue. You have a tendency to speak without thinking."

"I do not!" Winter said with outrage, but Glynda strolled away without answering.

"So!" Yang clapped her hands together and leaned in conspiringly. "Let's join the nicest group of people we see, then we'll send one of us to get food for everyone while the rest of us schmooze. That way we'll maximize social contact. Got it?"

"Um… can I be the food-getter?" Ruby volunteered.

Yang sighed impatiently. "Sure, sure, yeah, whatever. Come on, let's do this! And don't forget to introduce yourselves as Huntresses from Beacon."

Strutting confidently, she led the way to the maze of tables and dove in. Ruby and the others followed her with difficulty as she navigated between the chattering students; Ruby tried to hide behind Winter's willowy frame, but Winter didn't have a bulky cloak that kept getting caught on chairs and scarves. Ruby kept muttering "sorry" and "excuse me", feeling her embarrassment grow as more and more people noticed that they weren't wearing Haven uniforms.

"Can we just sit down?" she pleaded to Yang.

"Yeah, sure… hang on a sec… yep, over there!" Yang pointed to a table of only four or five, sitting close to the exit opposite of the one RWWY had used to come in. They looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, and their faces were friendly enough, if a little guarded.

Once they reached the table, Yang said, "Hello! We're students from Beacon. Can we sit with you guys?"

"Are you transfers?" one of the girls, a brunette, asked. "Because if you are, they all sit over there." She pointed at a miserably overcrowded table next to the trash bin in the corner.

Ruby felt queasy. What if they were labeled as outcasts too, and forced to sit there? Her stomach churned, and she wished she could run away and eat in peace, preferably with Yang or Weiss by her side. Or Blake. Blake was often at her side when she needed to be away from people.

Lost in her thoughts, she missed Yang's response, but the Mistralians' faces brightened, and they all scooted over to allow RWWY to take the four remaining chairs. Ruby sat between Winter and Yang, with Weiss on Winter's other side for once. The chair was made of curved black metal like the table, but it had a relatively soft seat, and it moved almost soundlessly when Ruby pulled it closer to the table.

"Ruby, the food?" Yang muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Right! Um, I'm getting food. I'll be back!" Ruby stood up so quickly that she almost knocked over the chair, and she hastily caught it and put it back into balance, her cheeks flaring with embarrassment. Great, now all they would see was an overly excited, clumsy puppy. _At least Yang can be the leader here, instead of me_. That was one comfort.

Ruby gave an awkward wave, and once the Mistralians focused on Yang again, she scooted away and began manoeuvring her way to the kitchen, where a short line of students waited to fill their trays with food. She quickly grabbed a few plates and loaded them with a salad for Weiss, a hamburger with pickles for Yang, and baked potatoes and chicken for herself. After a moment of hesitation, she got Winter a plate identical to hers, although she added cup of fruit because she remembered seeing Winter eat one once back in Beacon. She nodded to the serving lady to be polite, then balanced the tray carefully in her arms and began weaving a path back to Yang's table.

"…and I'm the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," Weiss was saying in lofty tones. "You've heard of us, correct?"

The Haven students exchanged glances. "Yeah, we have," a blonde boy said, twirling his fork on his plate. "Not a lot of good things, mind you, but…"

"What do you mean?" Weiss demanded. "There aren't many fauni in Mistral! Surely they haven't been feeding your country lies about the SDC, like they do in Vale?"

"So you've been cheating the fauni too, huh?" the brunette girl who had first spoken to Yang asked coldly. "We don't like fauni much, but I guess we have something in common with them. We all know how the SDC tried to steal wind Dust from us eight years ago. I heard the Schnees had a real drop in fortune after that. I'm surprised you have enough money to attend school."

"We got in on talent, not because our father is _still_ rich," Winter interjected angrily.

_But you got in almost on pure chance_, Ruby thought to herself. However, she didn't voice her thought aloud, and placed her tray on the table to conveniently interrupt the conversation before it overheated. "Here's our food! Excuse us, sorry, while we eat for a bit."

"A hamburger? Thanks!" Yang snatched her plate away enthusiastically. "I know I shouldn't be eating this stuff," she added to the brunette, "but I can't help it. It's the oil."

"I know," she agreed heartily. "I just ate one of my own. Aren't they heavenly?"

Yang launched into a discussion of fast foods with the brunette girl and the two strawberry blondes who were sitting next to the blonde boy. Weiss and Winter picked at their food silently with sharp, jerky motions, as if they were still angry at the brunette and the boy for insulting their family company. Ruby noticed with relief that Winter didn't complain about her food.

_Why is it so hard to be social?_ she wondered, watching Yang interact with these near-total strangers as if she'd known them her whole lifetime. _I wish I could be like that. All I can do is show people how I can twirl a scythe that I made myself. No wonder Weiss thought I was stupid when we first met_.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" one of the strawberry blondes – the one with the paler blue eyes and straight shoulder-length hair – asked, looking at her curiously. The other blonde had curly elbow-length hair.

"Oh – right, of course," Ruby said awkwardly, giving a nervous smile. The girl smiled at her in return, a little quizzically, before returning to her conversation with Yang.

With a sigh, Ruby picked up her fork and began to eat. The food was good, if a little too bland for her tastes. She wanted to ask for some kind of sauce for her chicken, but decided not to because it would sound pretentious. _Hey, can I have some sauce for my chicken? Oh, you don't eat sauce in Mistral? I'm sorry, I didn't know. In Vale we had sauce whenever we wanted…_ she'd sound stupid.

"Excuse me, do you have any sauce for the chicken?" Winter asked, looking at the brunette. "It's too bland."

The brunette raised her eyebrows and slowly turned around to face Winter. "We had sauce," she said, enunciating clearly, "but we gave it all to the transfers from Vale. You can go ask them for some."

Winter didn't even bother looking at the overcrowded table again. Her posture was very straight, and she glared at the brunette with as much fury as she could muster. Ruby knew – they all knew – that if Winter got the sauce, it would be her own social suicide.

"Actually, I'm fine, thanks," she practically spat. "Nothing could make this chicken better anyway."

"Winter!" Weiss smacked her shoulder. "Where are your manners?"

"Do I need manners?" Winter hissed.

"When you're talking to people, _yes_! Quit being a witch!" Weiss said shrilly. "You're making all of us look bad!"

"Actually, we only have a problem with you two," the blonde boy said, leaning forward and folding his arms on the table. "We don't like Schnees here very much, you see. It's a family thing – nothing you'd understand."

"That is out of line!" This time it was Weiss doing the spitting; she stood up, took a nearby napkin, and threw it in front of the blonde. "I will not take your insults, peasant! If you are so concerned with family, surely you know what a duel is!"

"Are you challenging me?" the blonde asked softly. "You should know I'm hard to beat." He stood up, too, eyeing Weiss with a scowl.

"I am. Tomorrow, midday, in the courtyard where our airship landed," Weiss declared. "Yang, will you be my second?"

Yang stood up, too, looking unhappy. She gave the four Mistralians apologetic looks, but said to Weiss, "I guess. But I don't think it has to come to this."

"I challenge you," Winter said quickly, also standing up. She picked up Ruby's napkin and threw it in front of the brunette. "Right after my sister has her duel – same place. Any weapons."

The strawberry blondes tittered as the brunette eyed Winter calmly. "I think I choose the weapons," she said thoughtfully. "If I'm not mistaken. But I agree that any weapons may be used. Semblances?"

Winter blinked. "Of course."

"Oh, don't be mean, Vy," the strawberry blonde with paler blue eyes complained. "She doesn't know what your semblance is!"

Vy shrugged. "Her problem. Will you be my second, Argent?"

The blonde boy met her gaze, and smiled slightly. "Of course, Vy. And will you be mine?"

"Naturally," she agreed, blushing.

"Ugh, it's almost like an engagement," Winter muttered, shoving her near-empty plate away. "I'm going to be sick if I don't leave. Oh, Ruby, will you be my second?"

Ruby blinked. "Um…" She gazed at Yang, hoping for advice, but her sister only shrugged helplessly. The gathering crowd of onlookers who were drawn by the raised voices didn't have any suggestions either, so after a moment of internal debate, she turned to Winter and chose to be loyal to her team rather than her feelings on the debated subject. "I will," she said solemnly.

"Good! Then let's go train. And then class." Winter grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip and dragged her from her seat.

"Hey! But my chicken!" Ruby protested.

"Too late," Winter muttered. "Move it! Move!" She pushed her way through the onlookers, who parted like the Red Sea before Moshe's blue Dust.

"Don't worry, I'll finish your food!" Yang called after her.

-x-

Unfortunately, the next day was freezing cold. Ruby put on as many layers as possible, but her fingers were shaking in her gloves despite the death grip she had on Crescent Rose.

"My poor, little weapon," she murmured to it, cradling it close. "You must be freezing. I'm sorry I can't wrap you in my cloak. I promise I'll make hot chocolate for both of us as soon as we get back to the dorm – I mean, I'll ask the maid to make it. And I'll drink it for both of us, too."

"Um, what are you doing?" Winter asked, trotting over. "Did I just hear you promising your weapon hot chocolate?"

"It's just a form of affection!" Ruby defended herself. "Crescent has saved my life countless times – the least I could do is promise her hot chocolate, even if she can't drink it yet!"

"'Yet'?" Winter repeated. "Dust, I don't even want to know. Have you seen Argent? He was supposed to be here early to mark out the fighting ground."

"Hey, Winter! Is ten by ten enough, with the fountain in one corner?" Yang called from the other side of the small cobbled courtyard. The airship was gone, of course, and the space was ringed by grass, with a few bushes aligned decoratively along the neat stone paths that crisscrossed the wide Haven grounds. There were about five more small courtyards with fountains next to the northwest wing alone, where they were now; there were seven wings (there was no east wing because Mistral considered the east unlucky, since there was nothing in that direction but Grimm-infested ocean).

"Yeah – I mean yes, it's acceptable," Winter yelled back, her voice loud and clear in the cold air.

"Great! Then we're done." Yang brushed the chalk dust off her palms, tossed the discarded chalk aside, and stepped back to admire the carefully marked square. "Pshh, I'm great at geometry! Mr. Volt should see me now. I don't understand why he failed me last year."

"Drawing squares is a little different from understanding them," Ruby pointed out.

"You don't even know the first thing about geometry," Yang scoffed. She walked over to Winter and Ruby, and crossed her arms over her chest. "We don't even study squares. It's all about the _triangles_."

"Oh, yeah, sine and cosine and all that!" Winter interrupted. "I learned that a couple years ago. I finished calculus last year. It was pretty easy. I liked integrals."

"Shut up," Yang said carelessly. "You don't even know how to spell 'social existence', let alone recognize it if it bit you on the bum."

"S-o-c-i-a-l e-x-i-s-t-e-n-c-e," Winter said confidently. "I passed English last year too, not just math."

"What's cellular respiration?" Yang challenged her.

"One glucose molecule combines with six oxygen molecules to produce water, carbon dioxide, and 36 ATP through glycolysis, the link reaction –"

"Alright, enough, enough!" Ruby exclaimed, stepping backwards and putting her hands over her ears (Crescent Rose was safely slung over her back, protected from the demonic science talk Yang and Winter were spouting). "I get it, you're all smart. And then there's me. But I think Weiss, Argent, and Vy are here – look!"

Thankfully, Winter and Yang were distracted enough by the newcomers that they forgot about biology completely. "Finally!" Winter said sharply, stalking over to meet the trio. "It's 11:58! You were supposed to be here to help mark out the field!"

"Yeah, whatever," Argent drawled. One of his arms was slung around Vy's shoulder, and Vy was smirking as if she had won her duel already.

Yang took Ruby by the hand and steered her away from the battle square. "Let's be spectators!" she said. "And look out for teachers. I don't think this is what Glynda had in mind for our 'educational experience'."

"Well, we're learning dueling etiquette. It seems pretty important around here," Ruby said.

"Ah yes, dueling etiquette." Argent smiled coolly. "I believe Miss Weiss Schnee was the first challenger, so we will duel first. Do you have your weapon?"

Weiss scoffed and took out Myrtenaster, twirling it a few times. "I believe I take north here?" She eyed the weakly shining sun.

"That is correct." Argent pecked Vy on the cheek and strutted to the south edge of the square, to the left of the fountain. Weiss took her position directly opposite, and Winter settled next to the fountain.

"I summon you to duel for the insults you dealt to my family," Weiss said loudly and clearly. "Do you accept my challenge?"

"I do," Argent said equally firmly. He took out a dark grey metal stick, about an arm-length long; with a tap to the ground, the stick expanded into a six-foot-long pike with a black arrow-shaped blade at the end. The pike was slightly thicker near the centre, where Argent's hands held it, and several dots glowed with dark blue, white, grey, and red light; evidently, those were Dust compartments.

"Ooooh, I wonder what kind of weapon that is," Ruby whispered excitedly to Yang. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's a Multi-Action Dust Pike, but I'm not sure that's a category –"

"Yeah, you're right," Vy interrupted, wandering over and sitting next to them. "Argent got it from the same company that supplies Schnee, except one that doesn't engage in fraud, blackmail, and the like. It's a nice pike, isn't it?" She giggled lightly.

Ruby completely lost her train of thought for a moment. "Um…yeah," she managed. "What kind of weapon do you have?"

"Oh, it's – look!" Vy sat up straighter, her eyes suddenly fixed on Argent. Ruby flicked her gaze to Weiss, who had sprung into action. She regretted missing the start – they'd probably bowed, and performed some cue to begin the battle. But it was too late now. Within a few seconds, dozens of blows were exchanged as Argent's longer pike prodded and swung at Weiss. Its blade glowed alternately with red, grey, white, grey, blue, black, white, red – with each use of Dust, his attacks subtly changed form. Ruby thought the weapon looked unwieldy with its length, but Argent used it with impossible grace. It was obvious that he was using some kind of Semblance, perhaps one that enhanced agility. No one could move like that, not even Ruby with her super-speed or Weiss with her yellow glyphs.

Whether by unspoken agreement or not, Weiss had begun using her Semblance as well, though Ruby didn't remember them agreeing that Semblances were allowed in their duel. She created several suspended, rotating white glyphs in the air, and used them as platforms to jump on as she wove around Argent, trying to find his weak point with Myrtenaster's slender blade.

However, Argent was difficult to pin down. He actually jumped on one of the glyphs, and both of them seemed startled that he didn't tumble right off. After that, he and Weiss began to play a jumping game; her creating glyphs and destroying them, trying to knock him off-balance so she could finally disarm him, and him using his pike to keep himself steady while he jumped around unpredictably, trying to get at Weiss. It was a dance, and Ruby forgot about herself being cold as she watched the glittering weapons clash and rebound, over and over again…

Her trance was broken only when Weiss suddenly conjured a blue glyph right in front of Argent. He was so close that he didn't have time to spin out of the way, and the blue glyph through him backwards out of the square. He crashed next to the fountain, his upper half outside the line while his feet remained in the square, but he had undoubtedly lost.

Weiss sprang down from her white glyph, and cancelled the rest of them out. "I claim victory," she said formally, pointing Myrtenaster at Argent. "Do you say Pax?"

"Pax," he muttered. He stood up, brushed his pants off, and condensed his pike into its stick again. "Well fought, Miss Schnee."

"Just call me Weiss," she said politely, though without any friendliness. She stepped forward, and they shook hands awkwardly. "And do not insult my family again. I have won the right to your silence."

"Yeah, yeah," Argent said ungraciously, walking over to where Ruby, Yang, and Vy were sitting. "Vy, your turn. Knock her dead." He gave Winter a glance full of dislike.

"Huh!" Winter scoffed, standing up and smoothing her dress down. "I take north, then."

"Very well," Vy said coolly, standing up as well. She took Argent's position, while Winter stepped into Weiss's starting place. Winter took out her dagger and held it in front of her face, the thin side aligning with her nose. At Ruby's request, she had considered names for it, and she was currently deliberating between Luctus and Hiems.

"I summon you to duel for the insults you dealt to myself, my family, and my sister," Winter announced. A slight breeze had picked up, and it blew her hair gently around her face, making it look a little like a halo.

"I accept your challenge," Vy declared. She took a pair of curved scimitars from a sheath hanging from her belt, and held their blades in front of her face as well. "Then on –"

"Wait," Winter interrupted. "May we abstain from Semblances for this duel?"

Ruby heard Argent whisper, "Hah. She got cold feet. I bet someone told her."

"Of course not," Vy said, smiling wickedly. "You asked for it, missy. Now, we begin!"

Before Winter could protest, Vy pointed her scimitars straight at her. A beam of light flashed across the blades, and a small white orb of energy hurtled itself at Winter. She barely brought out her dagger in time, and the orb dissipated against it; her arms shook slightly, and she almost stumbled back.

"Wow. That's a strong semblance," Ruby murmured. "It's like a Dust gun, but she doesn't need Dust…"

"Vy's one of the best duellers in Haven," Argent told her with a smirk. "Weiss might be able to beat me, but she's nothing compared to Vy."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Don't let Weiss hear you say that. She might challenge Vy to a duel, and then we'll have to go through this mess all over again."

Argent laughed, and Ruby was surprised to hear only genuine humour – no mocking. "We'll call it an honorary draw for now."

"Don't let _either_ of them hear you say that," Ruby added a little uncertainly, unsure what response she'd get. "They'll duel each other, and then duel you too."

Argent gave her a small smile. "You're right, Little Red. I'll keep my lips shut." He mimed zipping up his lips and throwing away the key, then turned back to watch the battle. Ruby noticed he'd gone back to sneering at Winter.

_Little Red?_ She thought. Well, it wasn't the first time she'd gotten that nickname, but somehow hearting it out of the mouth of a near-total stranger made it seem unfamiliar, alien. She didn't feel that she liked it.

While they were talking, Winter and Vy had rotated so that they stood east-west, with Winter on the east side. Vy was attacking Winter with her scimitars, and Winter's short blade couldn't reach Vy; Winter was completely on the defensive, frantically blocking Vy's blows. Vy brought her blades together for a moment and fired another orb point-blank at Winter, and she had to duck and roll to avoid it, springing to her feet again with difficulty (she was still clumsy in battle, despite Ruby's help during team training).

"Why doesn't she use her semblance?" Ruby whispered to Yang. "She's really having trouble…"

"Oh, no. She did _not_." Yang groaned and buried her head in her hands. "I bet she forgot her body somewhere. I can't watch this. She wouldn't hurt a baby Boarbatusk the way she's fighting, let alone Vy."

Ruby frowned. Would Winter really do that, if she knew she was having a duel for her family honour? Maybe she had no choice, but then why would her real body be so far away that she had to put her illusion into place? It made no sense – Winter didn't have any reason to disappear.

Vy sent another orb at Winter. Beads of sweat were starting to show on her face, but she looked confident and determined. In contrast, Winter looked nothing like the haughty, intimidating princess she'd been before the battle. Her attacks were weak, her defenses barely held up, and in a few moments she simultaneously dropped her dagger and stepped out of the fight boundary.

"I claim victory!" Vy declared. "Declare Pax!"

Winter quickly stooped to pick up her weapon, then straightened up to face Vy. "Pax," she said quietly.

"Then I reserve the right to call you and your family any names I like," Vy said. "And I call you pathetic! Do you even know what fighting is? Or Hunting? You're worthless. I'm surprised they even let you into Beacon. Then again, it must be the money."

"Stop it!" Weiss sprung to her feet and stalked over to stand beside Winter; the sisters wore matching scowls. "Winter is here because she belongs, not because Father pulled some strings! No money was exchanged!"

"Pshah, whatever you say." Vy shrugged and sheathed her scimitars. She strode over to Argent and held her hand out to him, grinning. Argent took it and pulled himself up. Ruby and Yang hurriedly stood up as well.

"Well, that was an educational experience," Yang said brightly. "Thanks for that duel, guys! We'll see you around sometime?"

"We'll see _you_," Vy told her with a smile. "And Ruby," she added as an afterthought. "But not those two."

Ruby opened her mouth to say she didn't want to hang out with people who insulted her teammates, but Yang squeezed her arm tightly as if she knew what Ruby wanted to say. Ruby gave a little gasp of pain, and Vy and Argent left while she was trying to recover the feeling in her arm.

"I don't want to talk to them very much," she told Yang, Weiss, and Winter. "They're mean."

"They're our friends," Yang said with a shrug.

"Well, they're not _my_ friends." Ruby crossed her arms and turned to Weiss and Winter. "Good job, guys. But Winter, why didn't you use your illusion?"

"As you probably guessed, this _is_ my illusion," Winter said crabbily. "I can't explain right now."

"But do you even realise what you did?" Weiss demanded, rounding on her. "We looked like complete idiots in front of those two! You humiliated the Schnee name because you could not be bothered to show up to a duel that _you_ initiated! What sort of sister are you, anyway?"

"A horrible one, apparently!" Winter replied angrily. "And you can shut up! It's not my fault I couldn't get here in time!"

"Did you even get on the ship?" Yang asked.

"Of course! I just…"

"Well, I think the least you can do is tell us where your real body is right now," Weiss snapped. "Since you insist on letting down the Schnee name and the team, we might as well know what's so important."

"Um…" Winter faltered, and actually took a step back under the inquisitive (from Ruby) and irritated (from Weiss and Winter) gazes. "I…can't really say. And anyway, it's none of your business!"

"Then I don't think it's any of your business to be on this team, either," Weiss sniped.

"Hang on!" Ruby stepped forward, extending her hands to Weiss and Winter as if she were trying to soothe enraged animals. "I'm team leader here, and I decide whether Winter gets expelled or not. Personally, I think one mistake doesn't make her unworthy of us –"  
>"But this isn't the first time she's been missing Dust-knows-where and she won't tell us why!" Yang said, rounding on Ruby. Her eyes were wide with anger, but there was also concern. Ruby was startled to realise that Yang's frustration was born out of caring for Winter, not just irritation with her secret-keeping.<p>

The same thing could not be said for Weiss, however. "Well, I am quite tired of her secrets and lies! I do not want anything to do with her right now – or ever, if I can help it." She lifted her chin and stalked back to the building with their suite, practically spitting at Winter as she passed her.

Winter made a small, strangled noise that might have been a squeak. She didn't look at anyone – she just vanished.

Ruby turned to Yang helplessly. "What can we do about Winter?" she asked.

Her sister shook her head sadly. "I don't know, duck. You're team leader. But I think we should give her a chance to work her issues out on her own. Obviously something's going on for her to use her illusion and not tell us why, and look at the way she's fighting with Weiss, too. It would be unfair to keep pressuring her too."

"That's what I was thinking, too," she said with relief. "I don't really want to confront her. I wish I could help – but her problems aren't really my business, are they?"

Yang smiled slightly and enveloped Ruby in a hug. "If you had your way, they would be – along with the problems of the rest of the world, and then you'd solve them all by yourself like a fairy tale hero."

"Yep!" Ruby hugged Yang back happily, feeling eternally grateful that she had such an understanding sister.

"Well, the world doesn't work that way, duck." Yang pulled back and tapped Ruby on the nose. "But we can solve one of Winter's problems by thinking of a cover story for her when Glynda gets back. It should be soon."

"Yeah. Okay." Ruby nodded and rubbed her nose where Yang had touched it. "Um… can you do it? I'm not very good at lying…"

Yang laughed. "Of course you're not."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were playing cards at the coffee table while Winter's illusion stared out the window (it had appeared half an hour ago) when Glynda threw the door open and strode into the room. Ruby jumped and dropped her cards, and quickly scrambled under the table to pick them up before Yang took them and looked at them.

"Girls, I have unfortunate news," Glynda announced. "Ruby, what are you doing under the table? Get up at once."

"Okay!" Ruby squeaked, instantly sitting up straight on the floor again with her cards in a pile on her lap.

"Right. Ahem." Glynda's face was flushed faintly pink, presumably from the cold, and her curls were in disarray. She took a moment to part her curls in a futile attempt to fix them and straightened her cloak. "I'm sorry to say that Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black are frauds. They never attended Haven; as I feared, their school records were forged, and there is no guarantee that they are even trained to be Hunters."

"How did they get into Beacon, then?" Weiss asked sharply. "Is the school so insecure that impostors can enter as they please?"

"They are not _impostors_, technically speaking. They are not impersonating any particular Haven students, and it's quite plausible that Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury are their real names." Glynda carefully took off her high-heeled boots and placed them carefully next to the door. Ruby blinked at her socks – they were purple, with silver stars. It was odd to see her wearing something so… mundane.

"But they still got in!" Yang said loudly, placing her cards face-down on the table so she could cross her arms. "Do you even have any clue who they are? Does Ozpin know? And what are you going to do about them?"

"Tea, anyone?" Glynda offered evasively. They all shook their heads; Ruby looked around and saw 'Winter' slowly shaking her head without turning around. She wondered whether the illusion could consume food and drink, and if it couldn't, what had it done with all the food it ate at the meals with RWY? Had it thrown it all up?

Ruby decided that the illusion could eat, and she would never ask about it in case she received a contradictory answer.

Glynda walked over to the kitchen and placed the kettle to boil on the stove. She stared at it as if it held the answer to Yang's questions, or to life itself.

"Professor Goodwitch?" Weiss said a little uncertainly, when Glynda showed no sign she was going to respond.

"Ozpin suspected they weren't students," Glynda said at last. Her voice was almost drowned in the whistling of the kettle. "But he let them in, anyway. I told him not to, but he wanted to see what they'd do."

"So you let random people with fake identities into our school. To keep an eye on them," Yang repeated. "So, if they go on a killing spree, at least you have a fast response time?"

"They wouldn't go on a killing spree." The steam from the kettle obscured Glynda's face and made her curls wilt slightly. "They're very cautious. They've only disappeared a handful of times in the last few months, and we've never been able to connect them with any criminal behaviour."

"That doesn't mean they're not criminals – they're just good at hiding," Yang argued. "How could Ozpin let them loose on Beacon? You still don't even know what they were doing or planning!"

"But they haven't hurt anyone," Weiss reasoned. She placed her cards on the table carefully; standing up, she began to pace around Ruby and Yang. "And we're not exactly helpless. Beacon is a school for Hunters and Huntresses, after all."

"Weren't you against this a second ago?" Yang demanded. "Ozpin can't elt criminals – spies – impostors –" She waved her hands around furiously, apparently speechless with indignation, and almost smacked Ruby in the face.

Glynda had poured the hot water into a pot, and now she added a bunch of leaves into the water. "I told Ozpin all of this, and many things besides, but he wouldn't listen. He's terribly stubborn." She finally looked up, her eyes clear and calm. "But now that we found evidence that they're not who they claim to be, Ozpin and I have the power to throw them out whenever it becomes necessary."

Yang growled. "I think it's necessary now, before they hurt someone or steal something or whatever criminals do."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, though," Weiss pointed out. "You are still keeping them at Beacon, aren't you? You are waiting."

"An acute guess. Are you sure you don't want tea?" Glynda took out two china cups from a cupboard and poured the tea into one of them, sending another burst of steam spiraling up towards the ceiling.

"No, thank you," Weiss said politely. "So the whole purpose of coming here was to give you an escape route in regards to Cinder and the others?"

"Correct."

"Actually, I'd like tea," Ruby interjected, standing up (and accidentally spilling her cards onto the floor again). "And Professor – do you actually know who they are? Maybe we can identify them by fighting styles and Semblances."

"Mercury and Emerald have each only fought once in my class, and trying to force Cinder to fight would only provoke them into leaving before we learnt anything useful." Glynda poured tea into the second china cup as well, added something to both cups, then carried them over to the coffee table. "Here you go, Ruby. Winter, you've been quiet. What is your opinion on the situation?"

Winter's illusion turned around, its expression slightly startled. "Oh, um… I don't think we need to throw them out yet. It's good to have the information, but we – I mean, you all – need to know more about them, don't you?"

"You're a part of this too," Ruby reminded her. "Whatever happened before doesn't change that." She sipped at her tea and found it unusually spicy, as if Glynda had added cinnamon to it, but delicious.

"Girls?" Glynda's expression suddenly sharpened, and she no longer looked like a mother making tea - she had returned to the familiar professor persona. "Did something happen while I was away?"

Ruby couldn't help it; she looked at Yang. She was rubbish at keeping straight faces, and she knew it. Yang kept her eyes fixed on Glynda.

"Oh, nothing, Professor," Yang said. "We just went to class, and then hung out here."

"Right. We were playing cards," Weiss added, pointing at the cards on the table helpfully. She stopped pacing and stood next to Yang, facing the professor.

Glynda nodded slowly. "Right. If you say so." She sipped her tea, her eyes never leaving the girls. Ruby twisted her fingers under the table and fidgeted uncomfortably. "May I ask why there is a chalk square drawn outside this building?"

"Ah –" Yang laughed and flicked her air. "We were just practicing drawing straight lines. You know, for… tournaments and stuff."

"Right," Glynda said again. "Well, if you say so." She placed her cup on the kitchen counter, then took out her tablet and walked towards the door.

Just before she exited, she tossed over her shoulder, "Just so you know, if I find out that any of you have been dueling, I will personally make sure that you never have another assignment at Beacon."

Ruby couldn't help wincing as the door slammed shut.

-x-

The rest of their three-day stay passed uneventfully; Yang continued to make friends with every other person they met, Weiss and Winter traded scathing comments with students who'd heard about Winter's loss against Vy, and Ruby mostly kept to herself, although she sympathized with the Schnee sisters a little. Even though they had been rude, she thought the Haven students wrote them off too quickly once they found out what their last name was. She did learn a few tips about fighting, but most of the lessons consisted of the same things first years at Beacon learnt. All in all, the trip was rather a disappointment for her.

She was only too glad to be back on the boat and heading back home to Vale. It was raining again, and Sparrow had seen them off with her yellow umbrella. Ruby felt distinctly more warm-hearted toward her now that she knew how cold and haughty many Mistralians could be. She hoped she'd see Sparrow again someday.

"Well," Yang said, "that trip was pretty fun, don't you think?"

"I have to disagree," Weiss declared. "The people were quite rude."

"Well, you didn't make much of an effort to win them over," Yang pointed out, laughing to take the sting out of her words. "Anyway, next time you come here, you''ll have way more fun as long as you don't tell them you're a Schnee. They can really be pretty nice once you get to know them."

"I should not have any reason to be ashamed of my surname," Weiss retorted. "At least_ I_ was able to defend it properly."

Winter didn't even look away from the window at that. They were all sitting in their tiny cabin again, sitting or lying on their respective beds; Glynda had gone off somewhere. "Shut up, Weiss."

"Make me!" Weiss crossed her arms and sneered at her sister. "By the way, is that your body? I hope you brought it with you, because no one can make their Semblance go across continents. Even Nerezza Silverstar –"

"We do not speak of Nerezza Silverstar," Winter cut her off.

Yang scoffed. "Why not? It's just a name. Let's practise spelling it, since you're so good at that. N-e-r-e–"

"Stop it! It's bad luck!" Winter snapped.

"Guys," Ruby intervened without sitting up. "Please stop. It's not good to fight all the time."

"Tell _them_ that," Winter muttered.

"You didn't answer my question!" Weiss pointed out.

"And I won't. It's not really any of your concern right now."

Yang started to say something, but Ruby cut her off. "Leave it. Please?"

"Fine." She let out a gusting sigh. "I'm bore–"

The ship shook with a sudden impact, and all the lights flickered. Weiss gave a little scream; Ruby and Yang shot to their feet, and Winter turned around sharply, her eyes wide with shock. "What was that?" Weiss gasped.

"I don't know, but we'd better find out!" Yang said. She rushed for the door, closely followed by Ruby, Weiss, and Winter. Ruby was tempted to speed ahead, but she knew that leaving her team behind would mean danger and even death for her, if something was attacking the ship. She took out Crescent Rose, but didn't unfold it yet – the narrow hallways belowdeck were too narrow for it.

There were muffled shouts and screams coming from behind the closed doors of other cabins. Right when RWWY reached the steps leading up, several more doors burst open, and when Ruby briefly glanced over her shoulder, she saw that they were about a half-dozen armed men, probably Hunters.

RWWY thundered up the steps and emerged onto the deck, blinking in the sudden sunlight. Ruby almost ran into Glynda, who was running towards the stairs, her riding crop in hand.

"You're here!" Ruby gasped, feeling a sudden sense of security when she saw Glynda ready for battle. She had seen first-hand how powerful that riding crop was. "What's happening?"

"We're not entirely sure," Glynda said curtly, eyeing the rest of the team. "But we're expecting the worst. Are you all battle-ready? Good."

Ruby looked around the deck. The sky was pale blue and the sun was shining about a third of the way up from the horizon; not a cloud was in sight. She thought it might be about ten or eleven in the morning. Random people were roving around the deck, some of them frightened civilians, some of them armed like the men who had followed RWWY up the steps. A man in a blue and white uniform, presumably the captain, was standing a short distance away, speaking to a man with a giant battle axe strapped to his back.

"We aren't sure what the disturbance was, but we'll be sure to let you know when we find out more," he was saying. "There was no damage to the shi-"

A loud _thud_ rattled the ship again, making Ruby stumble. She gripped Crescent Rose tighter and spun around, looking for the source, but the weather remained peaceful.

"Professor, what do we do?" Winter asked with a slightly panicked voice.

"Stay calm," Glynda said through gritted teeth.

The people on deck began running back and forth, shouting occasionally, as if doing laps would help the situation. The captain tried speaking to one of them, but the man just pushed him away and threw himself against the rails; then, with a shout of "Nothing!", he ran in the opposite direction.

"What are they _doing?"_ Yang demanded. "Should we be helping?"

Ruby's comment died in her throat as a dark shadow suddenly began stealing across the ship. She looked around, and her gaze landed on an enormous black snake body, with grey diamond patterns on its scales. She followed the trunk upwards with her eyes until she saw a triangular snake's head with four bright, angry red eyes shining from behind a white mask. The head opened its mouth and hissed threateningly, exposing a slimy, forked tongue and rows of curved white fangs. Ruby thought her entire team could probably fit comfortably into that gaping maw.

"What… is that?" she breathed.

"A Leviathan," Glynda said softly.

Weiss let out a small squeak. "Do we have to… _fight_ it?" she asked in a very high-pitched voice.

Glynda's answer was interrupted when the man with the battle axe let out a roar and drew his weapon. The snake hissed in return, its eyes fixing on the man, and it lunged at him. Leaping aside with surprising agility for his large frame, the man swung his axe and landed a crushing blow on the Leviathan's head.

The snake snapped its jaws and withdrew from the deck of the ship, looking unhurt but even angrier. However, it hesitated to strike again.

"Everyone, to me!" the man yelled, raising his axe into the air and spinning it around. "Attack this bastard with all you got!"

"But –" the captain attempted to protest, but he was drowned in the sound of screaming people fleeing back below deck; within seconds, the only people remaining in the open were RWWY, Glynda, the axe-man, the captain, and about a dozen armed men and women. The weaponless captain seemed to decide that he'd leave the axe man in charge, and followed the civilian passengers to relative safety, though not before yelling, "Kill it quickly!"

"What an idiot," Yang scoffed, checking Ember Celica's ammunition. "Didn't he at least hire soldiers to protect the ship against Leviathans?"

"I'm afraid this is all the help we're going to get," Glynda said grimly, her gaze fixed on the serpent. "Girls, I understand if you want to hide –"

"No! We want to fight." Ruby looked at her team for confirmation, and most of them nodded, though Winter's gaze remained transfixed by the snake. "We won't leave you here, Professor."

"Very well. Then stay out of trouble, aim for its eyes and the inside of its mouth, and don't get killed."

The snake decided to lunge again, this time for a woman standing near the railings. The woman jumped backwards and hacked at the Leviathan with her sword, narrowly missing its fangs. Two men sprang forward and shot at the serpent's eyes with their guns; the bullets exploded in bursts of fire on the mask, and the snake drew back again, letting out a horrible screech. Ruby didn't even know snakes could _make_ that kind of sound.

"Guys, split up!" she yelled. "Weiss, I want you to create blue glyphs every time if it lunges at us. Yang, fireballs! Bla-" She stopped suddenly, realizing what she was about to say. She took a deep breath, willing herself, _forcing_ herself not to cry – not here, not when all their lives could be at stake. "Winter –"

She was forced to cut herself off when the serpent lunged straight at the team. They all scattered, and Weiss conjured a large blue glyph in front of them, but the Leviathan smashed right through it and kept going, its momentum barely stalled. Yang threw several fireballs, which exploded harmlessly against its mask like the fire Dust bullets, and Ruby used her Semblance to rapidly shoot several dozen bullets into its gaping jaw –

Then Glynda flicked her crop and created a shining violet energy shield right in front of the head, and the fangs smashed into it; there was a horrible sizzling noise, and the Leviathan reared backwards, shrieking in agony. One of the women shot a pale blue arrow at its body with a compound bow, which stuck right below its neck and exploded into a growth of ice that prevented it from moving properly, and the axe man threw his axe at the serpent as well.

The axe glanced off the scales as if they were rock, and the snake broke free of the ice easily. However, the Leviathan changed tactics. It shut its jaws and dived into the ocean. There was a giant splash, and then all was eerily still.

"Everyone, spread out around the perimeter!" Glynda commanded. "It could reappear anywhere."

The deck was about 80 by 20 paces, curved at either end. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang took positions about 10 paces apart on the side facing the sun, along with Glynda, the axe man, and the women with the bow and the sword. The others spread out along the other deck. Ruby's heart was thrumming, and she could feel every imperfection in the metal of Crescent Rose's handle; someone had shut off the propeller, and all she could here was her own breathing and heartbeat, and the lapping of the waves.

She had never seen a Grimm this big; even the Goliaths were dwarfed by this monster. She wasn't even sure how long it might be, or what its size might mean about its age and intelligence. For the second time since facing her first Grimm as a eight-year-old, she felt daunted by the size of humanity's enemies, and she felt the impossible futility of the task that Hunters and Huntresses had, keeping these dark creatures at bay. How many Leviathans were there? How many Goliaths? If combined, could they all destroy humanity together? And if they could, what was stopping them from doing so now?

Ruby's thoughts were stopped in their tracks when the ship rattled again as something very large slammed into its hull. She grabbed the rails with one hand and gripped Crescent Rose even tighter, wary of letting her beloved friend fall overboard. "Glynda!" she shouted. "How do we fight this thing if it's underwater?"

"We don't!" Glynda responded. "It has to come to us. Don't worry, it's a Mistralian ship; it's made to withstand these types of attacks."

Ruby frowned and tentatively leaned over the railing, looking into the pale blue water. It looked peaceful and clear, not as if a monster could surface at any moment –

Of course, the water chose that moment to become dark and opaque, and Ruby leaned back just in time to avoid getting her head snapped off when the Leviathan shot upwards. She hacked at its scaly side with Crescent, using her Semblance to deal it almost two dozen blows before it noticed and tried to eat her, but she hardly caused a dent. Abandoning this strategy, Ruby shouted "Weiss!" and threw herself backwards; a blue glyph appeared in front of her and threw her even further backwards, out of the serpent's reach. The snake's snout smashed into the deck and caused several of the wooden boards to break; it hissed in fury and withdrew, preparing itself for another attack.

Ruby flew so far backwards that she crashed into another person. It was a man with a black sniper rifle; he put it down and helped her to her feet. "Thanks, sir," Ruby gasped, checking Crescent Rose for damage and sighing in relief when she saw nothing.

"No problem," he muttered. Ruby heard a clicking sound and jumped out of the way as the man fired his sniper rifle at the rearing serpent. One of its eyes flashed black as something landed in it, and it shrieked in agony as blood spurted from the eye.

"Well done!" someone yelled. "Three to go!"

"Great shot!" Ruby added. The man nodded at her and took aim with his rifle again, reconfiguring it into a slightly different shape by twisting and clicking some levers, much like Ruby did with Crescent. Ruby turned to watch what happened, but his bullet missed the Leviathan completely; the snake had lunged at the woman with the bow.

The woman dove out of the way and did something to her bow that made it morph into a gun. She fired at the serpent's tongue, and crystals of ice Dust suddenly formed on the pink tissue. The tongue retracted and the fangs snapped shut over the gun, snapping it into two even pieces. The woman shouted and scrambled backwards, suddenly clumsy and helpless without her weapon. Several men rushed forward to help her, throwing all sorts of Dust explosives and bullets at the Leviathan's head, but it retreated quickly before any of the weapons could hit any more of its eyes. Ruby sent a few more volleys of bullets at the mask, but she knew they wouldn't do much good; she couldn't aim when the serpent was moving so quickly.

The axe man threw his axe again, and it hit the mask before returning to his hands like a boomerang. Glynda flicked her riding crop, and a rope of fire threw itself at the Leviathan, aiming for its eyes. Yang assisted by throwing fireballs, and Weiss lunged forward with Myrtenaster, sending a growth of ice spreading from its tip, across the deck, up the railing and onto the serpent's body.

The Leviathan screeched in fury again and dived briefly underwater, escaping Weiss's ice and the blasts of Dust that nearly everyone was sending its way. Before anyone could relax, it resurfaced again and threw itself upwards. For a brief moment, several dozen metres of thick black snake writhed in the air, before the Leviathan landed with an enormous _thud_ on the deck, narrowly missing Winter.

Ruby's breath caught in her throat and for a split-second, she saw Blake being swallowed again; except now, it was Winter disappearing into the Leviathan's mouth, and again, she could do nothing. She screamed and threw herself forward, trying to do anything, everything to get Winter out of the way before the Leviathan ate her –

But the serpent took no notice of the little white figure, and snapped at Glynda instead. Glynda parried its fangs with her violet shield again, and the rest of the defensive perimeter threw itself forward, trying to help her defeat the Leviathan. Ruby stopped short before she crashed into the Leviathan's trunk, but instead of retreating prudently, she jumped onto the trunk and began running up the coils.

"Ruby! What are you doing?!" Yang and Weiss yelled simultaneously. She didn't reply, because she had reached the neck. Now, she fired Crescent into the scales below her and jumped upwards, using the recoil to shoot five metres into the air. She plunged Crescent into a chink between the diamond-hard scales, and used it to hoist herself onto the serpent's head. Everything looked dizzyingly high, including the figures on the deck.

Several people, including Weiss, decided to copy her strategy; the woman with the sword, the axe man, and three others jumped onto the Leviathan and began climbing to the head. A wave of dizziness hit Ruby as the Leviathan jerked its head back and forth, trying to throw her off, and she gripped its smooth, bone-like mask as tightly as she could.

Glynda attacked the Leviathan's head, trying to distract it by conjuring red and violet bolts and hurtling them at its head. It hissed and tried to snap her up, but she twirled around suddenly in her cloak, and reappeared several metres to the left, instantly using her crop to whip the Leviathan. It hissed in confusion and withdrew.

_No way!_ Ruby thought. _Glynda has the same Semblance as Nerezza Silverstar!_ A wild conspiracy theory flew into her head, but the thrashing of the Leviathan threw it out of her head again. Initially, she had planned to cut its eyes out with Crescent, but now she realised it was a challenge just to hold on.

Meanwhile, Weiss had used her glyphs to jump up to Ruby's height, and now she balanced on a white glyph, her hair whipping wildly in the wind. Her scar was very prominent against her deathly white face – she looked terrified but determined.

"Hang on, Ruby!" she yelled over the Leviathan's hissing and screeching. "I'll help you stay –" She created a new glyph and jumped onto it a moment before the Leviathan snapped its jaws on the glyph she had just been standing on. The Leviathan seemed to have caught on to her strategy, however, and after a few seconds Weiss was forced to jump onto its head and join Ruby. She created a black glyph directly under them and plunged Myrtenaster through the centre of the glyph and into a gap between the Leviathan's scales. She took it out a moment later, but when the head moved again, the glyph stayed anchored to the head and moved with it, instead of remaining floating in the space it was first created.

"Thanks," Ruby said breathlessly. "Can you reach the eyes?"

"The closer one, I think so." Weiss reached out with Myrtenaster and stabbed something Ruby couldn't see. There was a shriek of agony, and the ground suddenly tilted towards her, terribly close; she screamed and struggled to grip the mask, feeling that she was about to slide forward and hurtle onto the deck or into the ocean – but the glyph held her firm, and her vertigo subsided as the serpent reared up again, still undefeated despite its two upper eyes being out of action. Ruby looked down and winced when she saw that several people had been spattered with blood.

The people who'd jumped onto the Leviathan's back began trying to climb up after Ruby and Weiss, but Weiss waved Myrtenaster at them, shouting "There is no room left! Aim for the neck!" They seemed to hear her; with an angry bellow, the axe man raised his battle axe and plunged it into the serpent's scales. It stuck for a moment, and when he ripped it free, there was a dent in the armour. The woman with the sword took her turn; her blade glowed crimson as she swung, and a little trickle of blood came out.

The Leviathan twisted around to see who was attacking him. The people hastily jumped off its back as it began swinging its head back and forth erratically, as if the loss of its eyes had damaged its sense of direction and depth; its fangs snapped well short of the heels of a man with a rapier similar to Myrtenaster.

"Girls, get off there at once!" Glynda shouted from the ground. "I can't attack it in case I hit you!"

"We can get its eyes!" Ruby yelled back. "Wait, we can, right?" she asked Weiss.

"My arms are longer than yours," she replied. "I think I have to use Crescent Rose to reach the bottom two eyes. May I borrow it?"

Ruby hesitated; she hated entrusting her weapon to anyone else, knowing how much effort and money had gone into creating it. She knew that if it broke like the bow of the woman from earlier, she might not even be able to replace.

But this was Weiss, and they were fighting for their lives. She couldn't be selfish when it could mean the difference between maiming (and possibly killing) the Leviathan or allowing it to kill someone – it was only a matter of time before Blake's fate was repeated.

Silently, she handed Crescent Rose over, and reached her other hand out for Myrtenaster. Weiss gave her a grateful nod, her eyes filled with understanding. Her grip on Crescent was so tight that her knuckles turned white, and Ruby held Myrtenaster in the same grip, knowing that Weiss was putting as much trust in her guarding it as she was putting in Weiss to guard Crescent.

Ruby watched Weiss carefully as she hefted Crescent Rose and inched forward to reach the eyes of the writhing snake; all the sounds of the hissing Leviathan and the shouting people below her faded into the distance, until there was only her breathing and the sound of the whistling wind that flapped her cloak.

Weiss reached forward carefully and brought Crescent Rose down; she was rewarded with the Leviathan's shriek. Ruby gasped as the ground tilted again, and her heart almost stopped when she saw what the Leviathan was aiming for. The man with the sniper rifle was busy reloading it, temporarily defenseless with no one close enough to help him.

She knew what she had to do. She glanced at Myrtenaster, and rotated its barrel until the violet Dust was on top. Then, while Weiss was trying to get Crescent out of the Leviathan's eye, she jumped off the black glyph, pressed on the vial (hoping that was the correct action), and stabbed the Leviathan in its remaining eye.

Violet Dust was one of the most subtle and versatile of the Dusts; it could create hazes and manipulate the potential energy of an object. Weiss used it both to create black glyphs, which held an object in place with its potential energy constant, and to spend all the potential energy of her rapier in a single moment to deal a crushing blow. Ruby had pressed on the violet Dust compartment hoping for this last effect, and she succeeded. Myrtenaster went into the Leviathan's head up to the barrel as if the flesh and brains were made of air.

Unfortunately, the monster's head continued to fall while Myrtenaster slid out as effortlessly as it had gone in, and although the man tried to scramble out of the way, the snout landed on his leg, and he let out a scream of pain. Ruby screamed too, because she was falling, and Myrtenaster was in her hand so Weiss couldn't catch her, and the ground was getting closer and closer –

And then Yang was there, and Ruby held Myrtenaster out as far as she could to avoid stabbing her sister as she tumbled into her arms. All the breath whooshed out of her, and Yang let out a groan as both of them tumbled to the deck.

"You're okay!" Yang gasped. "I thought you were going to die, you idiot –'

"Are you hurt?" Glynda demanded, running up to her. "That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen and I'm a professor in a school of teenage soldiers –"

"That was marvelous!" a voice boomed out, and Ruby thought it could only belong to the large man with the axe. "I never would've thought of jumping off that monster's head –"

"It crushed my leg!" a high-pitched voice added. "Can someone get medical help or something-?"

"Gerroff," Yang muttered. Ruby scrambled off, feeling a little hurt, but Yang enveloped in a bear hug as soon as she sat up. "I'm so glad you're okay, little duck!"

"Can I have my weapon back, please?" Weiss interjected. Ruby stood up hastily and handed her the bloodied rapier with a smile of gratitude. "Good job, Ruby."

"Thanks!" Ruby looked around at the gathered faces. "Um, can someone get this man so help? I'm so sorry, by the way, I couldn't think of any way to make the Leviathan stop completely…"

"That's – alright," he gasped, clutching his leg with both hands. "At least – I'm – not dead."

Once Glynda assured herself that Ruby was in fact uninjured, she hurried over to the man. "Help me get the head off of him," she commanded. At once, several of the fighters leant against the Leviathan's head and threw it off the man with the crushed leg, who whimpered in pain. Ruby paled and turned a way to avoid looking at the bloody mess that was left of it. She knew she should feel happy for dealing the Leviathan the final blow and saving the man's life… but what if he could never fight again? Was it really better to live a cripple than to die whole?  
>She shuddered a little at these thoughts. <em>Life can always be worth living<em>, she told herself, _even if I'm missing all my limbs and my nose. There's always something good left_. Like her team, for example. She hoped the wounded man had close people in his life who could take care of him.

Looking around the slightly-worse-for-wear deck, she noticed Winter walking slowly towards the gathered group. She appeared uninjured and her dagger was sheathed, but her skin was so pale that Ruby wondered if she'd turned into a vampire. Winter's face turned a little green as she gazed at the dead Leviathan.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked her, moving forward. "Is this the first time you've seen a dead Grimm?"

"N-No –" Winter averted her eyes from the Leviathan, but avoided looking at Ruby's face. "It's just… I don't know. Just watching you, it made me…"

"Yeah, it _was_ pretty scary," Ruby said, attempting a weak laugh. "But everyone's mostly alright now. No one died…" _Not like last time_. And she had done something to help that; it made her feel warm inside.

"Yeah, I guess." Winter didn't even try to laugh. "Um, can I go below deck? I feel a little sick."

"Of course! And could you tell everyone it's safe to come up now?" Ruby suddenly remembered something. "Oh – and that's your real body, right? Sorry, I'm just wondering…"

"Oh. Um, actually, no," Winter said, shifting her feet uncomfortably and still not meeting Ruby's eyes. "My body's nearby, but… I couldn't fight with it. I'm sorry. But I'll be back by the time we get to Vale, I _promise_."

"Okay, I trust you." Ruby tried to smile at her reassuringly – she _did _trust Winter, despite all her secrets, but Winter had already turned away.

"I'll go tell them," was all she said before she disappeared down the steps.

With a sigh, Ruby looked back at the people huddled around the wounded man. Glynda was giving some kind of medical aid, and most of the other adults were trying to help toss the body overboard; the axe man was using his axe to chop a part of the railings off. Yang was watching them work, while Weiss was cleaning Myrtenaster with a water bottle, her expression distasteful. Crescent Rose lay next to her, its blade still bloodied.

"My weapon!" Ruby called, running over to Weiss. "Oh, thanks for keeping it safe, Weiss! And thanks for letting me use Myrtenaster."

"No problem," Weiss said, not looking up from her rapier. "Do you need water?"

"Um, yes please." Ruby took the proffered water bottle and squirted some of it onto Crescent, but it had hardly any effect on the Leviathan blood. She sighed, realizing that she'd have to go downstairs and use her special cleaning solution, which was in her bed. And she couldn't fold Crescent Rose because the blood would get in the way…

"Here," a voice interrupted her thoughts. Ruby looked up and saw Winter standing there with a bottle of cleaning solution – Ruby's bottle. "I thought you might need this. And Professor, the captain says he needs to speak to you about reimbursements for damage."

"Tell him he isn't getting any reimbursements from any of us here because we saved his ship," Glynda replied without looking up from the man's leg (Ruby averted her eyes hastily). "Oh – and Ruby? If I catch you pulling a stunt like that again, I'm sending you straight home so your father can enroll you in a Sisters of Accord school."

"But –" Ruby started to protest against the waste of her talents, but quickly shut her mouth when Glynda gave her a stern glare. "Yes, Professor, I won't." _Let you see_, she added in her thoughts.

"Good. And all you girls can go get a change of clothes as well – I'm not letting you walk around stinking to high heaven."

"Yes, Professor," they all chorused. Ruby was happy to get rid of the bloody clothes – until she remembered her only source of clothes was Yang's suitcase. "Um, Yang….?"

She groaned, as if she'd anticipated the question. "Yeah, yeah. But don't take any of the low-cut tops. I don't care how many Grimm you've killed, you're still fifteen."

"Um, okay." Ruby reflected that this would make it a lot harder to find a change of clothes, but she decided not to say so out loud.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Wow, it's November 30 and I have 939 words left to win NaNoWriMo. Of course, I'll continue writing this story, but it won't be at the same rapid edit-less pace it's been for the last 30 days. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and had the patience to suffer through my first bumbling attempt at a mystery story. I'm a little less than halfway through the plot, so not much is supposed to be revealed at this point.**

**Chapter 16**

When RWWY's airship touched down gently on the Beacon landing pad, Ruby wasn't sure what she was expecting to see, but deserted grounds weren't on her list. The Emerald Forest didn't stir; no one was waiting for them to arrive, and the only sign of life was the rows and rows of lit windows in Beacon. The sun was fast descending to the horizon, and when Ruby left the airship, she saw a long row of gleaming airships standing next to theirs, each with the Beacon logo painted in pale blue. Somehow, it seemed anticlimactic that she was returning from a battle to see a peaceful view of the sunset at Beacon.

Weiss, Yang, Winter, and finally Glynda descended from the airship, and Glynda pointed her keys at it, causing its lights to flash once. "I hope you all have everything," she said tiredly, "because we're not going back up there."

"Nope, we're good," Yang assured her. "Are we in time for dinner?"

"We'd better be." Glynda took out her riding crop and stalked forward down the path to the school, the crop trailing menacingly behind her.

Ruby and Yang raised their eyebrows at each other, but neither of them commented on Glynda's uncharacteristic behaviour. Ruby fell into step between Weiss and Yang, with Winter trailing a few steps behind.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, Ruby reversed directions and began walking backwards, looking at Winter. She opened her mouth to search for something to say, but she couldn't think of anything. Winter looked up at met her gaze steadily.

"What?" she asked calmly.

"I – um…" Ruby flailed for something to say. "Are you back?" she asked finally.

Winter scowled and narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. Another Winter briefly appeared next to her, and vanished before Ruby could get a good look at her.

"Finally," muttered Weiss, who had turned around as well to see what Winter would do.

"Happy?" Winter demanded.

Ruby felt her cheeks grow warm with shame; Winter's snappishness made her realise how rude her constant questions about her Semblance were. "I'm sorry," she said lamely.

Winter scoffed, not gracing her apology with a response. Ruby turned and began walking the right way again, feeling even more depressed about the emptiness of the Beacon grounds. Hadn't _anyone_ come out to greet them? Ozpin, at least, or JNPR? Oobleck?  
>The logical part of her mind told her that that made no sense – no one could know when RWWY would return, and everyone was probably at dinner now anyway. But that didn't stop her from feeling irrationally irritated.<p>

Weiss and Yang seemed to either guess her mood or share it, because no one spoke until they entered the school through the great double doors. The cafeteria was alight with talk and laughter, a paradox to Ruby's state of mind.

Glynda stopped just in front of the cafeteria and gestured with her riding crop for RWWY to go in. "And get rid of the moping faces," she said brusquely. "You can eat, but I still have to report to Ozpin."

"I'm –" Ruby started to apologise, but Yang yanked her into the room before she could get it out.

"Are you _crazy_? She could've bitten your head off!" she hissed to Ruby. "Just keep your head down and go eat!" Then, in a louder voice, she announced, "We're home, everyone! Thanks for welcoming us!"

A few teams looked up with a mixture of irritation or confusion, but after a moment of gazing, they all went back to their food. Only one team seemed happy to see RWWY return.

Pyrrha, Jaune, and Nora grinned wildly when they saw RWWY; even Ren cracked a small smile. "Hey guys! Come over here!" Nora called, waving to them excitedly. "Oh my Dust, it's so great to see you all – how was your mission? No, wait, eat first! Wait no – Winter, you can tell us while they eat. What did you do? How was Glynda? –"

"Shh, relax," Ren told her with some amusement, pulling on her arm gently. "Let them sit down."

Ruby smiled at him gratefully as she squeezed in between Winter and a random person from another team; Weiss and Yang opted to sit next to Pyrrha and Jaune, while Winter had settled to Nora's right. Ruby gave Pyrrha a tentative smile, wondering if she was forgiven yet, and was met with a return smile. She almost laughed with relief, thankful that her hurtful words had been forgotten.

"Where's the food? I'm starving!" Yang complained. "Hey, Ruby, would you -?"

"Nope!" Ruby cut her off, knowing what she was about to ask. "I think it's your turn."

Yang groaned, but reluctantly got up again and went in search of food. Weiss immediately scooted over into the empty space, exhaling contentedly. "Thank goodness," she said. "Well, how about you all tell us about your mission first?"

"But –" Nora started to complain, but Ren pressed his finger to her mouth, and she subsided with a small giggle. Ren took his finger away, and they gazed at each other for several moments, seemingly lost in their world. Ruby smiled at their cuteness; she knew they weren't dating, but they often acted like an old married couple, sweeter than the thickest Red sap from the trees in Forever Fall forest.

"I can summarise it," Pyrrha said easily. "Basically, ROZE took us to Quadrant 13, where there'd been a recent Grimm breakout. Jaune and I –" she gave her teammate a smile – "fought off a horde of Ursa, and Ren and Nora got to kill a Death Stalker with help from Zakat. He and Nora were really close," she added. "They had this really cool moment –"

"Yeah, when we attacked the Stalker's tail at the same time and we cut it off and then there was this huge spurt of blood and the thing started thrashing everyone took cover and then we were the only ones standing over its dead body! It was _awesome_!" Nora gushed. "But then later, Zakat started trying to ask me out, so I told them Ren is my boyfriend (which is totally weird and untrue obviously) but for some reason he believed it, and then he left me alone."

"Interesting," Weiss said, her eyes on Nora and Ren. Ruby looked at them too; Nora's eyes were shining, but Ren picked at his food impassively, not seeming to pay attention to the conversation.

"Hey," Ruby said suddenly, remembering what had happened before RWWY had left on its mission. "What about you and Jaune, Pyrrha? Are you guys together or what?" _Did what I say to Pyrrha actually do anything to them?_

"Um…" Pyrrha and Jaune exchanged glances. "We're just friends for now, Ruby."

"Aw," she said playfully, hoping she wasn't making their situation awkward like she accidentally had for Weiss and Neptune. They were smiling, though, so that probably meant they were okay, right? "I was expecting a cute new couple!"

Jaune laughed nervously. "Um, we have a lot of schoolwork…" he offered feebly. "And stuff… you know…"

"Oh, that makes sense," Weiss said, nodding understandingly, but to Ruby's confusion, she sent her a brief death glare. "So, what was your mission about in general? Were you just helping fight those Grimm back? Where is Quadrant 13, anyway?"

"It's somewhere in the southwest of Vale," Pyrrha replied. "And yeah, we were helping the local police. And the day before yesterday, we actually helped out in the hospital a bit – it was really interesting! And then we returned yesterday evening."

"Did you like the mission?" Ruby asked, addressing her question to the team at large.

"Oh, yeah, I really liked it!" Nora said. "It was really fun to kill all those Grimm, and then ROZE was really nice –"  
>"Excuse me," Winter cut in. "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back in a few minutes." She awkwardly clambered free of her bench and stalked out of the cafeteria, not glancing back.<p>

Nora gave Ruby a confused look, but Ruby shrugged, as baffled by the sudden exit as she was. "Right, anyway… so ROZE was really nice. Jelly – Evangelica, I mean – and Onyx were really funny, they kept switching names and stuff, and they act almost identically too so it was impossible to tell them apart – and then Radiance was the most mature, but she was still pretty funny sometimes."

"Also, the difference in ages was intriguing," Ren added. "Onyx, Jelly, and Radiance were all twenty-five or twenty-six, and they were in the same graduating class at Beacon. Zakat was only seventeen, and he came from Mistral to replace their friend Sorrel, who was killed in a skirmish. I was surprised that they got along very well, considering the age difference, and the fact that Zakat could be seen as an intruder, like Winter. No offense meant to your team, of course."

"We don't see Winter as an intruder!" Ruby protested loyally. "She just… she isn't making much of an effort to fit in yet. But we're working with her."

"Actually, _I_ see her as an intruder," Weiss said. "I do not know about Yang, but I do not think she will ever belong with us. She is too insufferable, and we all know it is almost impossible for a person to change his or her personality."

"No, personalities _do_ change," Jaune spoke up suddenly, his expression serious. "People can learn, Weiss. I did it myself – I used to be a coward, and I like to think that now I'm a little more courageous."

"Well, I do not know about you," Weiss said, unwilling to lose the argument, "but I know my sister too well. She will not change, so she will not belong, and that is that."

"Are you sure you know her that well?" Ren wondered. "I mean, if all you two do is fight…"

Weiss's reply by a triumphant cry of "Dinner!" as Yang practically slammed a tray bursting with food onto the table, nearly splashing Ruby with mushroom soup. Yang shoved Weiss aside and dove into the food, mumbling, "You don't know how much willpower it took to get this stuff without eating it all without you!"

Weiss grabbed a random plate and held it out of Yang's grasping reach, looking faintly disgusted at her table manners, but she didn't make any comment once she smelled the sautéed onions. "Food," she breathed, and promptly tucked in.

"Wow, you guys are really hungry," Nora observed with a laugh. "Aren't you going to eat, Ruby?"

"Oh – yeah," Ruby said, looking around the cafeteria. "It's just… I feel bad eating without Winter. Should we save something for her?"

"Fine," Yang mumbled between mouthfuls. "But if she doesn't come back by the time I'm done and I'm still hungry, I'm eating her food too!"

"Here, I'll keep it safe," Pyrrha said with a chuckle, taking a plate of fried rice and chicken. "Bon appétit, guys!"

"Thanks!" Ruby didn't restrain herself anymore; grabbing a plate at random, she started inhaling what turned out to be green beans and broccoli. She was too hungry to care, however, and she soon polished off the vegetables and reached for some fries.

Winter didn't reappear throughout dinner, and when Ruby fell asleep an hour later, she still hadn't returned to the dormitory.

-x-

The team's morning routine was disturbed when Weiss closed the door behind them and noticed a notice pinned to it. "What's this?" she asked, taking it off the door.

Ruby stood on tip-toes to read it over her shoulder, and Winter and Yang read it over her head. "'Vytal tournament preparations'… wait a minute, those started yesterday?!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't anyone tell us? The tournament starts in only a month! We have so much work to do!"

"We're not ready at all!" Yang exclaimed. "We'd better skip the library this afternoon and start training!"

"Wait – then I need to rewrite my entire schedule!" Weiss stuffed the paper in Ruby's hands and began rummaging in her bag, finally taking out a pure white planner and a pen. "Vytal… Vytal…" she mumbled, flipping through the pages frantically. "Where's December?"

Winter stepped back a little and watched them panic, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why are you so worried about all this?" she asked. "It's just a tournament…"

"No, it's _the_ tournament! The tournament of the year! Teams are coming from Hunting schools in all four kingdoms – whoever wins gets fame, glory, a scholarship to the university of their choice, and an instant position in the elite military as soon as they graduate!" Ruby explained to her breathlessly. She started jumping around, feeling the need to get rid of all her excess energy. "Plus, it's freaking _awesome_! We get to meet all these super-cool and advanced teams from the whole world! I bet that everyone who comes represents the best teams in their schools – we're going to see the coolest weapons and meet the best teenage Hunters in the whole world! It's like the biggest thing in our lives, and it's only once every two years, and it's in a _month_!"

"Okay. Okay. Calm down." Winter took another step backwards. "I get it. I think."

"Do you? Do you _really_?" Weiss demanded. "Because I'm starting to get the feeling that you don't care about anything in life –"

"I care about some things!" Winter exclaimed. "Like –"

"Stop fighting!" Yang yelled. "Let's just get to breakfast and argue about all this later!"

-x-

As always, Winter trailed along after Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. She didn't really try to take part in their conversations anymore, except when they explicitly included her; it just led to too much fighting. And no matter what they thought of her, she hated fighting, especially with people she wanted to call her friends.

When Ruby and Weiss began discussing the Vytal tournament and Yang went off somewhere to talk to her other friends, Winter decided to melt away and leave them alone for a while. She dragged her feet and slowed her pace almost to a crawl, stopping periodically to adjust her boots or her hair, and soon Ruby and Weiss had rounded a corner ahead and left her behind.

Winter wandered over to a window and stared out at the frost-covered grounds. The weak winter sun made the grass sparkle, and she saw a few people jogging alone through the courtyard a story below her. The grounds were one of the few things she liked about Beacon, apart from Ruby and Yang. They were much nicer than the bleak cliffs around White Castle.

More out of habit than anything else, Winter conjured her Semblance to stand next to her. The illusion was identical to herself, down to the smallest mole and the thinnest hair; her body was the only thing in the world she could copy perfectly, and thus the only thing she could share her mind with. When she first used her Semblance eight years ago, the effect of directing two bodies at once and seeing herself twice had made her head spin; now, she was entirely accustomed to it. Sometimes, she almost forgot which body was real, and which one was the illusion.

Unfortunately, the hallways of Beacon were not particularly saturated with Dust, and within a minute Winter began to feel the strain that came with using her Semblance without a nearby Dust source to draw energy from. Quickly – in the vain hope that something had changed from the previous night – she changed her illusion into her best approximation of Ruby.

Instantly, her awareness of the illusion vanished, and a Ruby-that-was-not-Ruby appeared next to her, staring at her blankly. Despite Winter's best efforts, the face was still not quite right, and parts of her skin were still translucent. More importantly, though, she could not feel anything with the illusion; it was like a puppet that she controlled by concentrating on it with her mind. It wasn't Ruby, it was some kind of monstrous copy that did the real Ruby no justice. As much as Winter tried, she could not replicate the kind sparkle or the shy smile, or the cheeks often flushed with excitement.

Feeling disgusted with herself, Winter cancelled the illusion and returned her gaze to the window. She knew that if Ruby, Weiss, or Yang found out that she often tried to copy them, to duplicate them so she could pretend to talk to them when she was alone, they would probably freak out and never speak to her again. Heck, _she_ wouldn't even speak to herself again. But she couldn't resist; after so many years of loneliness and fighting, she wanted to preserve the memories of her new friends as best she could before they left her, so she could have some kind of positive image when she was alone instead of staring at her own too-cold face all the time.

Suddenly, Winter didn't want to face the others with her whole awareness anymore this morning. She was feeling too sentimental; it frightened her, because when she felt too mushy, her cold façade began to slip and she acted too amicable towards the others, especially to sweet, innocent Ruby. It hadn't happened often, thankfully, but she knew that one too many nice comments would make her seem at least a little friendly; friendliness led to questions, and questions led to explanations that she couldn't afford to give right now. She knew all secrets came out eventually, but she wanted to keep this secret as long as possible, because if – when – it came out, she knew she'd lose her friends and probably her career. Yes, she knew her lies were born of selfishness, but as long as she was on team RWWY, she wanted things to stay the same as long as possible.

On some days, though – the days she acted particularly nasty to Ruby, or snapped too harshly at Weiss or Yang – the days she really hated herself – she wondered whether the mask she'd donned eight years ago was really still a mask. When everything came out and she didn't have to act distant anymore, could she really take it off? Would she still be the nice, normal Winter she'd been before, or was the fabricated bratty side of her already permanent?

Only time would tell, she supposed.

Winter knew she'd be missed soon. So she left her illusion to begin walking in the direction Weiss and Ruby had gone, and her real body ran towards the stairs in the opposite direction. Within a minute, she was outside again, striding through the cold wintry air toward the Emerald Forest and the shameful secret she harbored inside of it.

-x-

Despite the upcoming Vytal tournament (only a month away!), Ruby felt more relaxed that ever as she walked towards the training room with the rest of her team. She'd just eaten an enormous lunch, and now she would exercise away the sleepiness with her team in the familiar fighting sequences. The day was sunny and relatively warm for winter, and she thought after training, she could take her team outside to drink hot chocolate and admire the grounds before dinner and their evening study session. What could go wrong?

As soon as she thought this, Jaune appeared from another hallway and began running towards them, his face panicked. "Guys! Come quick! Something terrible happened!" he yelled.

Ruby resolved to never ask herself that question again.

"What?" Weiss yelled back, sounding more annoyed than worried. "We were going to train just now, so I hope it can wait –"

"No, it can't!" Jaune finally caught up to them, and he leaned his hands on his knees, panting heavily; RWWY formed a small semi-circle around him. "It's… the SDC… the thing attacked them! The Blake thing!"

"_What?_" Weiss said disbelievingly. "Blake attacked my family's company? Impossible! She wouldn't… she knows me! She wouldn't hurt me like that!"

"Well… I… don't know… anything… about that," Jaune panted. "I just know… Pyrrha just found out… a mine was attacked. There were… casualties."

"No," Weiss whispered. "She _wouldn't_!"

"Are you sure it was her?" Winter asked angrily. "Because I swear, if you're making it up or something –"

"Of course I'm sure!" Jaune exclaimed with vehemence. "I wouldn't lie about this kind of thing! But come on, you have to go see the news! Everyone's watching it downstairs!"

Ruby hardly registered his words until Yang was tugging at her arm, and soon they were all running towards the steps, leaving Jaune behind despite his protests. Weiss was running the fastest, with Winter close behind; she threw herself down the steps recklessly, as if the possibility of tripping and breaking her neck didn't even occur to her. Ruby, Yang, and Winter followed a little more slowly, so by the time they reached the first floor, Weiss was already halfway down the hallway, rushing to the main entrance, where a TV had recently been installed opposite the great doors.

When they all reached the entrance hall, there was already a sizeable crowd gathered around the large screen, but despite the number of people, everyone was eerily silent, mesmerized by the images and the reporter's voice.

"…and recent figures estimate close to a hundred casualties," she was saying. "Immediately following the collapse of the mine due to an unexplained Dust explosion, observers to the scene spotted an unidentified silhouette near the area in question, and when they approached the mine, they saw it poking around the collapsed tunnel. Before anyone could get clear footage of it, a large cloud of dust obscured the area, and when it cleared about half an hour later, the silhouette was nowhere to be seen. The police are asking anyone with any information about the crime or the identity of the person seen in this picture to step forward for a considerable reward…" The reporter's face disappeared, and a blurry image of a shadowy figure appeared on the screen, framed by a large pile of rocks that was presumably the collapsed mine tunnel.

Ruby drew forward, horrified and fascinated at the same time. She had never seen the "Blake" figure, but she'd heard it described several times by Sun and other people who'd heard of it from the city. But the reporter sounded like she was blaming the mine collapse on Blake, and the Blake she knew would _never_ kill this many people, even if they worked for a company who mistreated fauni…

Weiss and Winter had pushed their way to the very front of the crowd, and Ruby lost sight of them after a few moments.

The reporter's face appeared on the screen again. "Some witnesses claim that they can link the silhouette with the figure that appeared twice in Vale in the last month," she continued. "One witness has gone so far as to identify it as Blake Belladonna, a recently-deceased first-year student at Beacon who bears the same first name as the figure that attacked the Vale docks about three weeks ago. Blake Belladonna also had a shadow-like Semblance that resembles the silhouette seen at the SDC mine. However, this report appears far-fetched, not only because of the confirmed deceased status of Blake Belladonna, but because this SDC mine is well over three hundred miles south of Vale, and it is unlikely that the figure seen in Vale has any connection with the silhouette. The police are asking for real, confirmed information, not fantastic conspiracy theories. And now over to a representative of the SDC…"

The spell of the news report was broken; the gathered crowd began to break up into little groups, all discussing what they'd just heard.

"This is horrible," Ruby whispered. "I've always heard of Dust mine accidents, but to see one this big… I really, really hope it was an accident."

"I doubt it," Yang said darkly. "We know the SDC has a lot of enemies, and anyway, I don't believe in conspiracies. The figure has to be the same as the one who was in Vale."

"But do you really think Blake would kill a hundred people like that?" Ruby asked. "Maybe the reporter was right, and we're just jumping to really far-fetched conclusions… I mean, Blake isn't that uncommon of a name, right?"

"I don't believe in conspiracies," Yang repeated. "Anyway, who said the silhouette caused the explosion? Maybe it really was an accident, or maybe the White Fang caused it and Blake was over there to investigate. Just because someone was at the scene of a crime doesn't mean they caused it."

Ruby's response caught in her throat when she saw Weiss. The heiress was pushing towards them like she didn't even see the crowd, and her expression was blank with shock, her blue eyes shattered. She looked like she'd aged five years in five minutes.

Winter, on the other hand, looked furious. As soon as she came within earshot, she hissed, "I want to attack whoever did this."

"Not kill?" Yang asked wryly. "Regardless, I think you'd have to get in line."

"I just... I cannot believe Blake would _do_ such a thing." Weiss looked like she was blinking back tears. "After all we talked about, and everything we discussed about the White Fang and my family's company and how both sides were in the wrong and she promised she would never do this kind of thing anymore – how can she just turn around, ignore us for a month, and then do something like _this_?"

Ruby fumbled for something to say, but the excuses or lamentations her mouth tried to frame were worthless, and she let them die on her tongue. She searched desperately for some kind of comment, half-wishing her Semblance was mental instead of physical, but she was saved the necessity of speaking immediately when Sun appeared.

"Hey, Weiss," he said quietly, leaning against the wall. "Bad day?"

"You would know," Weiss answered, rubbing her eyes furiously. "Can we go somewhere a little more private? Please?"

"What, just you and me?" Sun joked weakly, but his heart clearly wasn't in it. His comment went ignored, and they all began walking down a random hallway, until Yang tried the first door and found it unlocked. They all filed into the empty classroom, Ruby closing the door behind them.

Sun faced Weiss, his hands in his pockets, his shirt buttoned up for once – out of respect, or just from the cold? "I don't think it was Blake," he said without preamble. "Look, I'm sorry for the bluntness, but I think she's gone. If this figure really is her, her actions make no sense. It's a lot more likely that she's just an impostor."

"What, so you're just giving up on her?" Yang asked loudly. "Blake is the strongest person I knew – she doesn't just _die_! Maybe she has some kind of plan, or something, which explains her behaviour, and we're not meant to find it out yet. But just because something doesn't make _sense_ doesn't make it _untrue_!"

"I think Sun is right, Yang," Weiss mumbled, covering her face with her hands. "Assuming it is our Blake anymore simply makes no sense anymore. It is much more likely that the figure is an impostor trying to use her identity as a mask, maybe to scare us or scare Ozpin, and obviously an impostor cannot show themselves to their fake identity's closest friends."

"I think she's right," Ruby began, but her voice was drowned out by Yang.

"Just because it's illogical doesn't make it untrue! Isn't it illogical that humans and fauni hate each other? They're practically the same, with a couple extra ears or tails here and there! But they still kill each other every day, don't they? So why can't you all believe it's _Blake_ out there? I know she wouldn't do something as horrible as killing a hundred innocent people – but maybe she was trying to save them! Did that thought even cross your mind? Or are you all too busy giving up on our best friend?" Yang glared at all of them, daring them to disagree. Weiss continued to hide her face, sniffling slightly, and Sun shuffled awkwardly and stared at the floor. Winter had wandered over to the window, and she appeared to take no outward interest in their argument.

Summoning up her courage, Ruby met Yang's gaze directly, not flinching away. "Yang, no one here is giving up on Blake," she stated. "But if the figure out there really is our Blake – which we don't even know for sure, because like the reporter said, there could be hundreds of Blakes out there in the world – she wouldn't be acting this way. She said she'd left the White Fang behind; didn't she say that she'd left the deceit and lies and violence behind, too? So why would she attack random White Fang members at the docks and in that warehouse? Why would she appear at an SDC mine, even if she were there to save the miners? Why would she even know they had to be saved? There's a difference between illogical emotions and illogical actions, and the actions of this figure just don't match up to the Blake we knew. Please, Yang, don't tarnish her memory by letting an impostor take her identity and use it."

Ruby felt quite proud of her impromptu speech; Sun looked up and smiled at her, and Weiss had stopped sniffling to listen. However, when she met Yang's eyes, she saw they were dark red with scorching fury. Not even bothering to reply, Yang stormed past Ruby and out of the classroom, slamming the door in her wake and leaving behind a too-large silence.

"Well," Winter said after a few moments. "That was a good speech, Ruby."

"It didn't do much good." Ruby sighed. "I just wish Yang would at least try and see it the way I do. She refuses to believe Blake is gone, and I'm just afraid she'll hurt herself twice as much when she realises that Blake won't be coming back."

"Don't say it like that," Sun said sharply. Then, in a gentler tone, he added, "Please. It hurts enough."

"Oh – I'm s-sorry." Ruby tried to blink back the suddenly gathered tears, but as always, it didn't work. "I didn't mean to be harsh."

"Th-that's okay," Weiss stuttered. Within a few seconds, she and Ruby were crying freely, as if Blake had died only yesterday instead of a month ago; Sun wiped his eyes, and Winter turned back to the window, clearly uncomfortable with the emotional display. Despite shedding tears over Blake, Ruby felt sorry for Winter, too. _It must feel awful to see teammates crying over a person you were sent to replace_.

Their crying session was interrupted when the door opened softly. Ruby looked up hopefully, but it was Ozpin, not Yang. He entered and closed the door gently behind him with his cane.

"P-Professor Ozpin?" Weiss said tearfully. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Ozpin murmured. "My condolences to the Miss Schnees; I can't imagine how hard it must be to know a hundred of your family's employees perished this morning. I wanted to let you know that your father, Lord Schnee, has offered to take both of you home for a little while. He says he would appreciate your help –"

"No," Weiss interrupted, before seeming to realise to whom she was speaking. "I mean, pardon, Professor Ozpin, but I do not want to go home. My place is here. Please tell my father thank you for his offer."

Ozpin looked at her steadily. "Very well, Miss Schnee. And you, Miss – well, I suppose I should say Winter?"

Ruby couldn't hide her surprise when Winter turned around and shook her head firmly. "My place is here as well," she said.

"Ah… very well, Winter. I'll let him know of your answers immediately." Ozpin hesitated, then shifted his gaze to Ruby. "May I speak to you outside for a moment, Miss Rose?"

"Sure," Ruby said, hastily wiping her eyes on the fur of her cloak.

"I'll go too," Sun said suddenly. "I have to get to class." He walked to the door hurriedly without looking at anyone; Ruby caught a glimpse of puffy eyes before he escaped into the hallway. When she stepped outside with Ozpin, she saw him disappear up the stairs leading to the dormitories.

Ozpin contemplated Ruby's face for a seconds before speaking; she looked away awkwardly, uncomfortable with the eye contact. "Ruby, I'm sorry to ask this when you're distraught," he said finally, "but it's very important – what do you know about the figure that has appeared thrice in Vale?"

"Not much," Ruby mumbled. "I don't think it's Blake anymore, and neither does Weiss, and Winter… I don't know. But Yang won't believe me."

"I'm sorry," Ozpin said again, though it sounded perfunctory to Ruby's ears. "But you didn't manage to discover anything else about the figure, did you? Any unusual information, any tidbits…"

"No. Did you?" Ruby dared to ask.

Ozpin surprised her by chuckling lightly. "I didn't, but if I do, I'll be sure to let you know. Consider it a favour." She looked up in time to see him wink at her and smile in a grandfatherly way. "Now, one more question. How is Winter assimilating into the team? Is she still being difficult?"

Ruby shrugged. "I guess, but we're getting used to it. At least she tries in training now, and she doesn't wind Weiss up as often."

"Good, good." Ozpin nodded. "Thank you for speaking to me, Ruby – and don't forget, the door to my office is always open if you need me. Have a nice afternoon." He nodded formally to her, and Ruby nodded back, unsure how to reply. She still found it disconcerting how he seemed friendly in one moment and distant the next.

She was about to go back into the room, but the door opened just as she reached for the handle. She jumped back quickly to get out of the way as Weiss and Winter exited. Weiss was rubbing her eyes, and Winter still looked impassive, though her eyes darted uncomfortably.

"Hi," Ruby said weakly, for lack of anything else to say.

"Um, hi," Winter muttered. "So… should we train or something?"

"I wish we could go to the mine," Weiss whispered. "We could help, or look around, or something. I hate just sitting here."

"We could train," Winter repeated.

"I do not want to train!" Weiss rounded on her. "How can you think about fighting when a hundred people just died?!"

Ruby stepped between them and gently pushed them apart. "Calm down, guys," she said. "Winter, maybe training isn't such a good idea. How about we get hot chocolate or something? And Weiss, maybe we can ask to go to the mine." As soon as she said it, she knew it was a far-fetched idea; there was no way Ozpin or Glynda would let them fly off on their own to a crime scene, especially without the chaos of the morning of the dock attack.

"No, they would never allow us," Weiss said, echoing her thoughts. "I will be fine, Ruby. I think I would like ice cream, actually."

"Me, too," Winter said. "Do they have chocolate?"

"I thought vanilla was your favourite," Weiss said with faint surprise.

Instead of snapping, like Ruby expected her to, Winter only shrugged. "The more you know."

"I suppose." Weiss straightened her dress and wiped the tears from her face; within a few moments, she looked almost exactly as she had before the news report, except for the swollen eyes. "Well, enough dawdling."

She took the lead to march towards the cafeteria, and Ruby found herself walking next to Winter, instead of Winter lagging behind as she often did. She wanted to say something, but small talk sounded too feeble, and she didn't think Winter would appreciate her condolences. So instead, they walked in silence except for the clicking of Weiss's boots, and Ruby spent the trip wondering what she'd say to Yang when she eventually saw her.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Yeah...haven't updated for awhile, have I? I'll try to write another chapter or two during Winter break (wow I automatically capitalise Winter now...), but do expect longer update times. Also, sorry for the meh-iness of this chapter.**

**Chapter 17**

Glynda continued to be distant to RWWY in classes, despite their shared experience in Mistral and the fact that Ruby now knew that Glynda wore purple socks with silver stars on them. Once, she tried to idly remark that the silver stars (along with Glynda's Semblance) reminded her of Nerezza Silverstar, but Weiss, Winter, and Glynda all made her stop before she got the first two syllables of the name out.

Ruby gave up on trying to be too friendly with Glynda after that, and restricted herself to giving Glynda friendly smiles during class, which she ignored.

On the Monday following the SDC accident, there was a school-wide assembly mourning the deceased; everyone was excused from their morning classes, so on Tuesday, the first years had a double-length dueling class with Glynda to make up for lost time, because as all the professors loved to remind them, the Vytal tournament was in only twenty eight days.

Glynda began the class with Pyrrha's customary warm-up fight; this time, her opponents were team HLLE, composed of three girls (Hotaru, Lelie, and Lotus) and a boy (Eau). She beat them without too much difficulty, and after praising all of them (but mostly Pyrrha) for a good fight, Glynda sent Pyrrha away and called for volunteers.

Ruby expected no one to step forward as usual, but to her surprise, Mercury stood up and announced clearly, "Professor, I would like challenge Winter Schnee to a fight."

Glynda eyed him suspiciously, obviously looking for an ulterior motive, but she didn't seem to find anything, because after a few moments of scrutinizing she turned to Winter and asked, "Do you accept his challenge?"

Winter hesitated for only a second before standing up as well. "I do, Professor."

"Excellent. Come on down."

Ruby and Weiss (Yang was absent) craned their necks to watch Mercury exchange a few words with Cinder and Emerald before descending gracefully to the dueling floor. Now that she knew they didn't belong here, Ruby wondered what Mercury's purpose in dueling Winter was. The action only called attention to him, and spies naturally wanted as little attention as possible. That meant he had something to gain from fighting Winter.

Unbidden, a memory sprung to her mind, of Mercury challenging Pyrrha and then deliberately, almost casually, losing. Pyrrha had ranted about his rudeness with uncharacteristic anger during lunch, and Ruby had agreed that he had been very unsporting. Was he planning to humiliate Winter the same way? Somehow, she doubted Winter treated battle with as much seriousness or honour as Pyrrha did.

Winter and Mercury took opposite sides of the dueling floor, and readied their weapons. Ruby noted with some pride how Winter's stance had improved; she brought up her dagger, tentatively named Hiems, and turned slightly sideways with her right side facing Mercury to present a slimmer surface area to his attacks. She still held the dagger too tightly, and Ruby wished she could convince Winter to rely on the subtle and varied abilities of violet Dust instead of placing all her trust in her Semblance; but Winter's progress was good, and Ruby couldn't wait to see how much she'd improve in time for Vytal.

Glynda gave the signal to start, and Mercury immediately sprang into action. Without using his greaves, he ran towards Winter and began attacking her with complex martial arts sequences, mostly consisting of kicks and punches. Winter attempted to parry with Hiems, but Mercury's blows were too strong, and she began stepping back with every attack, desperately trying to parry the blows with her forearms and knees.

After a few moments of this, her illusion appeared behind Mercury, who seemed to expect or sense this; he jumped sideways and did a roll before springing back to his feet. He paused for a moment before the two Winters, before deliberately turning and attacking the one that had just appeared.

_What is he doing? He must know attacking the illusion won't do anything useful_. Ruby remained confused for a few seconds until she saw Mercury deliberately place his sleeve in the way of the illusion's dagger; the sleeve tore, and as if he'd expected this, Mercury leaped back again after aiming a last kick at the real Winter's legs.

_He's testing her Semblance_. The obvious answer came to her in a flash of understanding. Winter's abilities hadn't been clear in the duel she'd had with Ren; as a spy, Mercury was obviously gathering information about the opposition. It also explained his willingness to duel Pyrrha, since Ruby knew that Pyrrha's Semblance wasn't really 'invincibility'.

Presumably, Mercury had discovered that Winter's illusion was entirely solid; now, he would probably forfeit himself as he had to Pyrrha, and retreat gracefully into classroom obscurity again. Ruby frowned, knowing she couldn't do anything to prevent this. The spies had won this round by getting the information they needed without anyone (besides RWWY and maybe Glynda) being all the wiser.

Mercury launched into a complex double attack of both Winters, darting between them and landing precise blows on their legs, stomachs, and shoulders. The Winters were visibly struggling to deal him blows, and several times they only narrowly avoided hitting each other with their Heims. Mercury still hadn't used his weapons once, and he seemed to be smirking at the way he was toying with Winter. It was clear who had all the power.

After a few moments, he disengaged and took a few steps backwards. He opened his mouth, and Ruby prepared to hear the words "I forfeit" – but the Winters suddenly spoke in unison.

"Those are some really interesting techniques," they said, their voices blending eerily. "Did you learn them in Haven?"

Mercury's smirk instantly vanished, and now he looked wary. "I did," he replied after a moment.

"Oh, because we went to Haven the other weekend – did you know?"

Mercury visibly hesitated. Ruby could almost hear his thoughts – she knew he was supposed to forfeit, probably by Cinder's instructions, but walking away from this conversation would damage his pride. He wanted to know what Winter was trying to tell him.

So he stayed. "I didn't," he said. "Did anyone mention me?"

"Oh, yes. They were fawning over you, telling us how Mercury was an excellent martial arts fighter and they all wished you'd come back to teach them how to be like you." The Winters smiled slightly, and plunged into the attack before Mercury could digest her fabrication. One of them managed to land a blow on his arm, causing him to leap backwards and scowl.

"That's very nice of them," he said through gritted teeth. "Unfortunately –"

Winter didn't give him a chance to respond, by making her illusion disappear and reappear again directly behind Mercury. Distracted by the conversation, he didn't spin out of the way in time to avoid a blow against his other arm.

He finally raised his greaves and placed his hands in front of his face like a boxer, not a trace of the gloating smirk left on his face. Ruby hoped that Winter knew what she was doing by provoking him into a fight.

Winter's illusion appeared in front of Mercury this time and tried to hit him in the face with Hiems' hilt, but Mercury spun out of the way and began exchanging blows with her. Now that he was no longer toying around, his superior skills became obvious; despite the Winters' intense efforts, he never received more than a scratch. Within half a minute, he had disarmed the real Winter and pressed one of his greaves to her forehead, with the other hand around the back of her neck, capturing her head. She stood still and obediently dropped her dagger, the violet Dust dulling into a barely visible purple design on the blade. Her illusion disappeared.

"I forfeit," she said.

The class clapped quite enthusiastically; most of them disliked Winter, and Mercury was generally respected for his fighting prowess. Glynda allowed the pair to return to her seats, although she wore a disapproving frown, her fingers tapping at her tablet angrily. Ruby wondered if she didn't approve of Winter's decoy tactics. At least Winter had tricked Mercury into winning, even if he'd obtained what he wanted from her.

Yang turned and punched Winter lightly in the arm as she sat down. "Good job getting that sucker mad! I never liked him anyway."

"Thanks," Winter said, grimacing slightly and rubbing her arm where Yang had hit her. "But he was just playing with me the whole time. I believe he was trying to test out my abilities. I didn't fight all-out with him, though. I think he thinks my illusion's weapon is a bit transparent."

"Good thinking," Yang noted, impressed.

"Anyone could've thought of it." Winter shrugged.

"I think –" Ruby started to say, but Weiss interrupted her.

"Quiet down, you idiots! I am trying to take notes here! Do you realise this is a _class_, not a socializing courtyard?"

"Sorry Weiss," Ruby mumbled quickly, already familiar with Weiss's anger when someone dared to disturb her learning experience.

-x-

Yang didn't appear for lunch or team training; she hadn't slept in the dorms the previous night, either. Ruby and Weiss were beginning to get worried, and Winter even offered to send out her illusion to search for Yang around the grounds. Yang was nowhere to be found, however, so the rest of the team was forced to go through its daily routine and hope that Yang would turn up before Professors started asking questions.

Ruby decided to go on with the team training they had scheduled that afternoon. She wandered into the room fifteen minutes early and began shooting at targets, her heart leaping every time she heard the door open – but it was always random people, who retreated hastily when they saw the room was occupied.

At five to three, Weiss entered, closing the door gently. She watched Ruby wordlessly for a moment, then took out Myrtenaster and joined her in shooting at targets. The red-and-blue circles aligned in a row on the side wall were already pockmarked with black dots, but now Weiss added little patches of ice blue and scorched black from her Dust bullets. They fired wordlessly until Winter sidled in, well after the clock above the door had struck three.

Ruby and Weiss stopped and turned to face her in unison. "And why are you late?" Weiss demanded.

"Sorry, I just…" Winter closed the door quietly. "I was looking for Yang. I have to use my real body now, though, because there isn't enough Dust around outside. This is my illusion."

"Oh, alright." Ruby could understand the motivation, even though it annoyed her that she was losing the chance to work on Winter's fighting patterns. "We'll do some exercises today, then. You didn't forget Hiems again, did you?"

"No." Winter nudged her sheath. "What kind of exercises?"

"Well, I was thinking we could work on your agility." Ruby looked at Weiss for support. "I guess like backflips, splits, walkovers…"

Weiss sighed. "Yes, I suppose I can teach her while you run around with Crescent. Come here, Winter."

"Thanks, Weiss!" Ruby smiled at her as Weiss beckoned Winter to join her on the foam mats used for flexibility exercises. The room was divided into halves, each about the size of the eating hall; on Ruby's side, there was a hardwood floor with targets on the opposite wall, while on the other half, there were foam mats and poles of varying width and length. Some of them had platforms on top, and others had ropes strung between them. Ruby loved holding a mock-battle on the foam side, but it was better with at least two teams.

Weiss put down Myrtenaster, and directed Winter to do the same with Hiems. Ruby watched her demonstrate a split for a moment, then returned to shooting at the targets, changing her position every ten bullets; Crescent Rose still had about two hundred left in it. She mentally noted that she'd have to order more –

The door slammed open, and everyone in the room turned in unison to see who was there. Yang stomped in, her damp hair frizzing wildly around her face. Her eyes were dark red, and she was glaring straight at Winter.

"Yang?" Ruby called out, but Yang didn't seem to hear her.

"Admit it!" Yang snarled, pointing at Winter. "You're just messing with us, aren't you? Admit it! We all know you're prancing around as Blake to scare everyone!"

"I'm _not!_" Winter cried, pointing Hiems at Yang. "How many times do I have to tell you before you believe me? I can't turn my illusion into other people –"

"Yes, you can! You did it that one time with Ruby!" When she was close enough, Yang punched Hiems out of Winter's hand; it skidded across the foam floor, the violet Dust fading from view. Ruby winced, taking a step forward, but she didn't know how to interfere – or whether she should. "Goddammit, stop _lying_ to us!"

"I'm not!" Winter screamed again, so loudly that Weiss took several steps back and covered her ears. Winter and Yang stood several feet from each other, yelling as if they were continuing a shouting match that had started several days before. "I can't affect the world with those illusions – only with myself! Even if I wanted to be Blake, I couldn't! And why would I want to hurt any of you? Why –"

"Then explain the Dust mine accident," Yang sneered. "I flew up there –"

"You _flew_?" Ruby gasped.

"- because I thought maybe Blake didn't want to reveal herself to you spineless worms, only to _me_, because _I'm_ the only one who believes in her! And what do you know – there wasn't a _trace_ of her!"

"That doesn't mean it was me!"

"Yeah, well, Blake appeared barely a day after you came here! Coincidence much?"

"Sometimes life is one big coincidence –"

"Not when it involves lying, scheming traitors like you –"

"Guys, just STOP!" Weiss yelled, louder than Yang and Winter. "Calm down! Have you both gone _mad_? Why are you yelling at each other?"

"Because she's –"

"Wait, wait!" Ruby ran forward and quickly slid in front of Winter, so that she was gazing straight into Yang's furious face. "First of all, how did you fly? Who flew you? Did you steal an airship? Why didn't you tell us? Second of all, just because Blake's an impostor doesn't mean Winter's the one –"

"Name one other person who cares about Blake! Just one!" Yang snapped. "Someone who knows what she meant to us and wants to use that to freak us out!"

"Why would anyone want to freak us out?" Weiss objected, crossing her arms in a businesslike manner. "We are not important. Yet."

Winter scoffed from behind Ruby. "And you won't be, with a freak like her on your team," she said shakily.

"_Our_, not your," Ruby reminded her.

Yang rolled her eyes, which were slowly fading into purple again as her temper cooled. "Stop being sappy, Ruby, it's not helping. So _Winter_, if you're not trying to mess with us, why are you such a witch?"

"Sorry," Winter muttered.

Weiss scoffed. "What kind of an answer is that?"

"Leave her alone, guys," Ruby said firmly. "She's told you a lot of times, she's innocent! Why do you keep attacking her?"

"Because we have no reason to believe her?" Now Weiss was beginning to look angry, as if she was remembering how much she hated Winter. "After being a little worm all her life, suddenly she breaks character and tries to force herself into our team with a conveniently overpowered illusion? I see Yang's point."

Yang threw her hands up. "Thank you!"

Ruby suddenly felt incredibly tired, as if all her muscles had turned to lead. "I don't understand why you keep bringing this up. People can _change_, and they aren't inherently evil. Why can't you believe in Winter? Sometimes I don't even think she believes in herself."

"Because we have no reason to," Weiss repeated. "Anyway, Yang, why _did_ you fly –" She stopped suddenly and stared at a point behind Ruby's shoulder, eyes narrowed.

"What?" Ruby turned around, expecting to see Winter. But there was no one behind her. She had disappeared.


End file.
